Benji Lanyado | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/benjilanyado
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Mon, 19 Nov 2018 21:59:32 GMT2018-11-19T21:59:32Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
AI promises a new utopia – but will the workless be welcome? | Benji Lanyadohttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/22/ai-artificial-intelligence-promises-utopia-workless-welcome
<p>Jobs are under threat from artificial intelligence – but all we hear is the upside. We need to fight the draining of wealth from ordinary people to Silicon Valley</p><p>There is a frontier excitement around artificial intelligence. As the founder of a tech company, I have this year found myself in the clutches of giddy AI marketing folk, wide-eyed and expectant, heralding the revolution to come – the accelerating advances in computational speed and decision-making contain a multitude of world-changing possibilities, they say. The buzz is gradually infiltrating the political classes – on Monday, Theresa May <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/21/london-hospitals-to-replace-doctors-and-nurses-with-ai-for-some-tasks">announced that AI would be harnessed</a> to save 22,000 lives a year by 2033, and plans published by UCLH outlined how AI could soon replace doctors for a range of diagnostic tasks.</p><p>Millions of workers are standing by, their careers dangling under a guillotine</p><p></p><p>Artificial Intelligence has various definitions, but in general it means a program that uses data to build a model of some aspect of the world. This model is then used to make informed decisions and predictions about future events. The technology is used widely, to provide speech and face recognition, language translation, and personal recommendations on music, film and shopping sites. In the future, it could deliver driverless cars, smart personal assistants, and intelligent energy grids. AI has the potential to make organisations more effective and efficient, but the technology raises serious issues of ethics, governance, privacy and law. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/30/reality-automation-terrifying">Ten million British jobs could be gone in 15 years. No one knows what happens next | John Harris</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/21/the-guardian-view-on-ai-in-the-nhs-a-good-servant-when-its-not-a-bad-master">The Guardian view on AI in the NHS: a good servant, when it’s not a bad master | Editorial</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/22/ai-artificial-intelligence-promises-utopia-workless-welcome">Continue reading...</a>Artificial intelligence (AI)ComputingConsciousnessTechnologyWork & careersTax and spendingTue, 22 May 2018 13:49:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/22/ai-artificial-intelligence-promises-utopia-workless-welcomePhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoBenji Lanyado2018-05-22T13:49:19ZDear government, Tech City is PR guff. Subsidise code schools instead | Benji Lanyadohttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/30/tech-city-subsidise-code-schools-year-of-code
Developers are the lifeblood of the tech economy – yet it's the private sector that's offering the training that businesses need<p>The tech sector is <a href="http://www.kpmg.com/uk/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/newsreleases/pages/tech-sector-job-hiring-and-business-activity-outstrips-rest-of-uk-economy.aspx" title="">outstripping the rest of the UK economy</a>. This is excellent. It's also very lucky. Look into the bowels of every successful technology company in Britain and you'll find rooms full of computer programmers – "developers" – writing the code that keeps the whole company afloat. They are fundamental: the lifeblood – without them, there is no tech sector.</p><p>And yet none of them learned their skills in school. The vast majority have taught themselves: the government had nothing to do with it. Decades of woefully inadequate information and communications technology curriculums in secondary schools have left academia perpetually five years (at least) behind the workplace, and they're only now trying to make up the ground. By the time kids are filling out Ucas forms or heading off to find a living, "computer stuff" has usually been relegated to the otherworldly realm of nerds. A tragedy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/30/tech-city-subsidise-code-schools-year-of-code">Continue reading...</a>Technology startupsTechnologyEntrepreneursSmall businessBusinessSilicon RoundaboutMon, 30 Jun 2014 09:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/30/tech-city-subsidise-code-schools-year-of-codePhotograph: Sam Frost‘Tech City, YearOfCode, prove me wrong, give us something we can weigh. How many fresh developers have you produced this year?' Photograph: Sam FrostPhotograph: Sam Frost‘Tech City, YearOfCode, prove me wrong, give us something we can weigh. How many fresh developers have you produced this year?' Photograph: Sam FrostBenji Lanyado2014-06-30T09:00:01ZRoad to Memphis, the final day - as it happenedhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/30/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-five
Relive the last leg of Benji Lanyado's five-day odyssey from Chicago to Memphis. He woke up for fried breakfast in Nashville and then walked in Memphis, past pig wrasslers and honky tonks. Catch up on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/26/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis">day one</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global/2013/aug/27/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-two">day two</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/28/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-three">day three</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-four">day four</a><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T03:12:59.092Z">4.12am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>And with that, dear readers, commenters, and tweeters … our TwiTrip must come to an end.</p><p>This has been a remarkable week. You've sent us to a Obama's barber in Chicago, dune-swimming on the shores of Lake Michigan, to the back of statistics classes at the University of Indiana, high stakes ping pong in Louisville, pig wrestling in Memphis, and … oh … so … much … food.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T03:10:30.018Z">4.10am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We wander down to Beale Street. At the head of the street, a mini armada of cops on bikes. They're friendly. One of them, Tucker, takes a photo of the three of us. And – I've never seen this before – ID checks, metal detectors, and bags frisks just to enter the street.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T03:05:06.461Z">4.05am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The entirety of Benji's trip from the windy city, through Indiana's dunes and Louisville's bourbon bars, and finally down through Nashville's fabled music halls and down on to track mud through Memphis' finest hotel.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T02:55:06.397Z">3.55am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Freshening up.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T02:50:51.776Z">3.50am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The cross-Tennessee adventure – in its Elvis-infused, pig wrestling, Peabody splattering totality.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T02:33:34.349Z">3.33am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>So you've got your blue suede shoes on, but the question is do you walk with <strong>Marc Cohn</strong>, a little banter before hitting the baby grand's C major – or do you walk with Cher – yes,<strong>&nbsp;Cher</strong> – who bursts off a bus and rambles through black and white Memphis, some would say strung just a few keys higher?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T02:10:32.783Z">3.10am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We roll our bags into <strong>the Peabody</strong>, a Memphis classic. It's super fancy. Soaring marble columns in the double-height lobby hold up an elaborately corniced ceiling with stained glass skylights.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T01:58:11.057Z">2.58am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Tipsters, we salute you:</p><p><strong>The great barbecue debate</strong>:</p><p>"<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/wild-bills-memphis">Wild Billl's</a>.&nbsp;This is the kind of blues and soul spot you want to go to, not the places on Beale. Get there at maybe 11? Later on, it gets too crowded to get a seat. Beer by the quart, soul food, dancing, fantastic house band.&nbsp;Totally authentic and unforgettable."</p><p>Don't forget to visit the <a href="http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/">National Civil Rights Museum&nbsp;</a></p><p>And see the <strong>duck parade </strong>at <a href="http://www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody-ducks/">the Peabody Hotel</a> while sipping a mint julep in the lounge (you'll have to make it there for 5 p.m. though)</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T01:38:30.790Z">2.38am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The guys are rolling into Memphis, a town whose southern charm – pig wrestling aside – has caught filmmakers' eyes over the years.&nbsp;</p><p>Actually, it may have even been that weirdness that attracted&nbsp;Jim Jarmusch back in 1989 for&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Train_(film)">Mystery Train</a>. The movie doesn't&nbsp;exactly follow the stories of its many characters, each stranger than the next; it's more like the movie stars Memphis in all its glorious peculiarity.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T01:23:04.361Z">2.23am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T01:13:23.797Z">2.13am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Next,&nbsp;<strong>the "men's division".</strong> A much bigger pig, for much bigger wrestlers. Two men and two women. A double pig wrestling date.They catch it, and dunk it bottom-first into a bucket in the middle of the pen.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T00:57:56.665Z">1.57am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Beyond a red rope, teams of pig wrestlers, in fours, in matching outfits. One team,&nbsp;<strong>The Hot Hamms</strong>, in boiler suits and hair tied up in red bows – look like they might be on a hen do.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T00:48:32.914Z">1.48am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>A bunch of kids in chef hats</strong> – not sure why – are sliding around in wet mud, just outside the pen. This is a family event. There are clowns.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T00:43:59.607Z">1.43am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Just your average ostrich at your average fair. Perfectly normal, nothing to see here.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T00:38:24.229Z">1.38am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>It's like any fair, really, with dozens of rides and stalls and food vendors.</p><p>Until you get to the back, where there's a giant sandpit surrounded by bleachers.&nbsp;They're filling up. In the middle of the sandpit, a red pen. Everyone is staring at it.&nbsp;Shortly, it's&nbsp;<strong>man v pig</strong>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T00:33:50.721Z">1.33am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>To the Delta Fair, a yearly event on the eastern fringes of the city. We enter through the gift shop, which sells all sorts of crap: phone accessories, football gloves, roasted nuts, cheap jewellery, pretzels, and – oh – swords.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T00:23:41.598Z">1.23am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The guys have just landed at <strong>the Delta Fair&nbsp;</strong>– an annual agriculture and music festival that offers, according to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.deltafest.com">their website</a>: "wholesome family entertainment while celebrating and promoting the rich art, music and history of the Delta”.</p><p>And that includes&nbsp;<a href="http://www.deltafest.com/index.cfm?page=events">Hog Racing and Pig Wrasslin!</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-31T00:12:40.061Z">1.12am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T23:54:58.372Z">12.54am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>With great wi-fi availability comes great uploaded video via Hollis – behold Scott's BBQ at work:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T23:30:50.841Z">12.30am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The team is racing to Memphis but won't have time to make it to Graceland, leaving a&nbsp;brief exploration of Elvis-mania to us at home. Benji, in particular, must be disappointed, seeing as he's made a notable Twitter friend:</p><p>Fresh, lean, unfrozen ground meat,&nbsp;one case orange drinks,&nbsp;at least 6 cans of biscuits,&nbsp;banana pudding (to be made fresh nightly),&nbsp;ingredients for meat loaf and sauce,&nbsp;brownies (to be made fresh nightly),&nbsp;fudge cookies,&nbsp;3 packs each of Spearmint, Doublemint, and Juicy Fruit gum,&nbsp;cigars (El Producto Diamond Tips &amp; El Producto Altas), and&nbsp;Feenamint gum.</p><p>I found Graceland crowded and kitschy, but I enjoyed it. My husband wasn't so impressed. The house isn't as big as I imagined it either. Lots to see though. There is a museum full of memorabilia (the costumes were the best), you can tour his airplane, see his fleet of cars...</p><p>So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times … I learned very early in life that without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain’t got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song. So I keep singing a song.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T23:18:11.223Z">12.18am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Southern sunset.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T23:01:28.269Z">12.01am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The road to Memphis passes through <strong>Jackson</strong>, which has a mini-genealogy of soul music in its history.&nbsp;Blues harmonica player&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Boy_Williamson_II">Sonny Boy Williamson</a>&nbsp;was born here, and fifty years later&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Scott-Heron">Gil Scott-Heron</a>&nbsp;moved here and grew up here.</p><p>Today, Scott-Heron's probably most famous for his song-poem 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised', but you can hear his influence in pretty much most modern blues, rock and hip hop.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T22:46:59.389Z">11.46pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>Kudzu</strong>, a rapidly growing invasive species that arrived in the South decades ago, engulfing everything around it. It suffocates the trees and kills them, but, golly, ain't it purty?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T22:23:43.134Z">11.23pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Inside, Gary and Hollis get a sandwich with vinegar coleslaw and barbecue sauce piled on top of a mound of meat. Through the wall we can hear the rat-a-tat of the sever's cleaver chopping up the latest batch.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T22:15:40.254Z">11.15pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're taken round the back by<strong> Zach Parker</strong>, the owner's son, past a pick-up laden with hickory logs and an open furnace full of smoking embers.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T21:52:49.041Z">10.52pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're 15 miles south of the I-40 on a loop road around Lexington, and pull off at Scott's, a long wooden shack with two cinderblock smokehouses out back.&nbsp;A handful of trucks are outside, under a large Dr Pepper sign.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T21:32:01.837Z">10.32pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T21:16:06.751Z">10.16pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>It turns out that what the guys saw of Loretta Lynn's <del>Ranch</del> Kitchen&nbsp;was but a prelude to the actual <a href="http://www.lorettalynnranch.net/main/">Ranch</a>.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T21:04:25.655Z">10.04pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T20:57:13.627Z">9.57pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Today's instalment of Hollis's road snacks: boiled peanuts. A significant upgrade on the ungodly Slim Jim knock-off he forced us to yesterday.</p><p>The peanuts are boiled in saltwater and stock until you can pull the shell off like paper, and a dribble of water spills out in your hands. The peanut has a consistency of a baked bean. Salty and delicious. Hollis, you have redeemed yourself.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T20:45:51.207Z">9.45pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Out in the carpark, a large PA is playing country music, but it isn't&nbsp;Loretta Lynn.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T20:37:07.951Z">9.37pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Here are some things you can buy in the&nbsp;Loretta Lynn gift shop:</p><p>Loretta Lynn pepper jelly,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn animal cookies,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn pickles,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn crystal candy,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn pen knives,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn Picture frames,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn phone cases,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn placemats,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn bells,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn playing cards,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn teaspoons with Loretta Lynn's face on the handle,&nbsp;Loretta Lynn toothpick holders and&nbsp;Loretta Lynn cigarette lighters.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T20:27:46.561Z">9.27pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We pull off the motorway and pop in to the&nbsp;<strong>Loretta Lynn Ranch</strong>, which consists of a buffet and a gift shop, dedicated to the beloved local country singer.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T20:07:16.590Z">9.07pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>And for something a good deal cheerier yet just as Tennessee-bound as McCarthy's novel: legends of Memphis blues and soul. Send us tune requests in the comments below and we'll put them on the next playlist!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T19:54:17.294Z">8.54pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Apropos Benji's post about the darker side of Tennessee, a note about <strong>Cormac McCarthy</strong> – America's modern master of all things western, grim and goth, often involving crime and always involving biblical prose.</p><p>Early in his career, McCarthy wrote a novel called Child of God, set in eastern Tennessee's&nbsp;Appalachian mountain towns, muddy forests and terrifying caves. The novel is being adapted into <a href="http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/08/29/james-franco-cormac-mccarthy-child-of-god-teaser/">a film by James Franco</a>&nbsp;of all people, which does not exactly bode well.&nbsp;Skepticism aside, this one may yet be more doable than McCarthy's famously hard-to-adapt mature novels – like the incredible <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Meridian">Blood Meridian</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crossing_(McCarthy_novel)">The Crossing</a>.</p><p>“In the spring or warmer weather when the snow thaws in the woods the tracks of winter reappear on slender pedestals and the snow reveals in palimpsest old buried wanderings, struggles, scenes of death. Tales of winter brought to light again like time turned back upon itself.”</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T19:34:06.947Z">8.34pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Back on the road. A note on road signs. They're different down here - more religion, more brutal. As we entered Tennessee, a huge sign alerts us to "BE PREPARED TO MEET THY GOD". Another simply lists the 10 Commandments. As we leave Nashville, a giant digital billboard with the number of road deaths in the city so far this year – 638 at present. Horrible.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T19:18:00.577Z">8.18pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T18:53:46.963Z">7.53pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>... Benji and the boys are taking <a href="https://twitter.com/dickersonpk/status/373472088863936512">@dickersonpk</a>'s tip and heading for <a href="http://www.lorettalynnranch.net">Loretta Lynn's Ranch</a> - "More than a destination, to Loretta it's home" - at Hurricane Mills, a couple of hours from Nashville.&nbsp;</p><p>According to Wiki: Hurricane Mills, Tennessee is billed as <strong>"The 7th Largest Attraction in Tennessee"</strong>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T18:08:16.095Z">7.08pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>As in the days of Gutenberg, everything at Hatch is done by hand - hand crank, hand ink, hand trim, hand wrap. It's like a working museum - shop manager Jim Sherradon's motto is "preservation through production" - and the posters are an archive of the Nashville music scene.</p><p>“Advertising without posters is like fishing without a worm," says Jim. "The Hatch poster, though, kicks with a louder boot when it blows down the door of advertising.” </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T17:41:04.603Z">6.41pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T17:25:57.398Z">6.25pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>It's a change of city, and a change of soundtrack. They're heading for Memphis, home of soul, blues, R&amp;B. The good people at the Stax Museum put together this playlist for us.</p><p>You can put together your own - send us your requests and we'll cue them up:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@BenjiLanyado</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23twitrips&amp;amp;src=hash">#TwiTrips</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/guardiantravel">@GuardianTravel</a>, or in the comments below. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T17:21:40.973Z">6.21pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>Second breakfast done? Check.</strong></p><p><strong>Doors of SUV modified to accommodate XXXL passengers? Check.</strong></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T17:01:49.816Z">6.01pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We get three chicken tenders between us - mild, medium, hot - and chow down on the porch outside. Ok, this was worth the wait. Prince's was raw, this is refined: the cayenne's sweeter, the batter better behaved.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T16:25:25.401Z">5.25pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>This is ridiculous. I'm having fried chicken for breakfast, and I've already had breakfast.</strong></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T16:22:45.672Z">5.22pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Turkey sausage and "Silver Dollar" potato cakes on a bed of egg yolk. Gary has gargantuan pancakes with fruit. Hollis, naturally, has a pastrami sandwich with chips, and is insisting we go to <a href="http://www.hattieb.com">Hattie B's</a> straight after for a hot chicken chaser - Prince's is the oldest, Hattie B's is the best, apparently.</p><p>Noshville is still rammed - Crystal says its always like this the morning after a game. Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt 38-35 in a thriller.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T16:00:37.767Z">5.00pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Turns out that our Lexington BBQ tipster <a href="https://twitter.com/yorkspork/status/373283141353758720">@yorkspork </a>is <a href="http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articles/2012/oct/01/filmmaker-interview-joe-york/">Joe York</a>, a filmmaker at the University of Mississippi who has made over 30 short films about Southern food and people. Including this one, <a href="http://vimeo.com/1535389">Whole Hog</a> made in 2006, about Scott's BBQ. Which is handy. And lip-smackingly good... the boys are in for a treat.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T15:51:23.586Z">4.51pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Crystal, our waitress, is running is through the complementary bread options. Sourdough, wheat, rye, marble rye, pumpernickel, plain bagel, wheat bagel, onion bagel, poppy bagel, sesame bagel, "everything" bagel (all of the above). She rattles them out in under three seconds. I can't remember what I ordered.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T15:32:12.567Z">4.32pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Hollis walks in and walks straight past us without saying hello. He's gone straight to the pickle vats and he's filling up a bowl. He saddles up next to us and hands out a pickle each. "Morning boys..."</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T15:30:14.191Z">4.30pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>We're in Noshville, in Nashville</strong>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T15:20:11.411Z">4.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Nashville Today <a href="http://t.co/ENw5hR2th0">pic.twitter.com/ENw5hR2th0</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T15:02:51.357Z">4.02pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We come to you from our west end Nashville hotel (<a href="http://www.aloftnashvillewestend.com">Aloft</a>, thanks to <a href="http://twitter.com/WannadoLocal">@WannadoLocal</a>) with heavy hearts and slightly heavy heads. The latter is self-inflicted, courtesy of Nashville's downtown strip and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-four#block-52201783e4b0b76ce52c7819">a handful of nightcap PBRs at Roberts</a>. The former is because today is the final day of our Chicago-to-Memphis TwiTrip!</p><p>Yesterday, you delivered. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-four#block-521fb35ce4b07d9848ba9f76">The Corvette Museum</a> was wonderfully weird. The <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-four#block-521f9159e4b0b76ce52c77c8">Buffalo Trace distillery</a> was obligatory and fascinating. And <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-four#block-521fca54e4b09749b486da6d">Prince's Hot Chicken </a>... hot damn, possibly the best meal we've had all week.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/30/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-five">Continue reading...</a>Nashville holidaysMemphis holidaysUnited States holidaysChicago holidaysTravelFri, 30 Aug 2013 17:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/30/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-fivePhotograph: Dosfotos/Dosfotos/Design Pics/CorbisSoul train ... the Benji wagon is rolling off to its final destination of Memphis. Photograph: Dosfotos/Design Pics/CorbisPhotograph: Dosfotos/Dosfotos/Design Pics/CorbisSoul train ... the Benji wagon is rolling off to its final destination of Memphis. Photograph: Dosfotos/Design Pics/CorbisBenji Lanyado and Hollis Bennett2013-08-30T17:01:00ZTwitter road trips USA: Chicago-Memphis day four - as it happenedhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-four
After a big night on the town, Benji Lanyado hit the road en route to Nashville, Music City, by way of bourbon, Corvettes and honky tonk. <br /><br /> Comments on this blog are now closed but you catch up with <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/30/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-five">day five</a><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T04:54:57.963Z">5.54am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We finish in Hollis's honky tonk of choice: <strong>Roberts</strong>. A "shotgun bar" – Long and thin and lined with shelves of cowboy boots and neon, fans spinning lazily overhead.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T04:40:25.865Z">5.40am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>And above it all, the captivatingly weird, hulking AT&amp;T building – "The Batman Building" to locals – with giant antennae for ears and spotlights swinging around in the clouds.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T04:33:31.302Z">5.33am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>On the doors: bouncers in Stetsons. Outside: tipsy groups pacing up and down the strip; men in tees and shorts, girls in perilously high heels or shop-fresh Rhinestone Cowgal getup – shiny cowboy boots and checked shirts.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T04:25:01.597Z">5.25am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Every bar has a band in the window banging though the obligatories: Dixie Land Delight by Alabama, Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks, and Rocky Top, the University of Tennessee fight song.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T04:09:40.351Z">5.09am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Downtown: a five block honky tonk Vegas, lined with neon and more than 50 bars stretching down Broadway from 5th avenue to the Cumberland River. It's brash, bright, teetering between classic and tacky, and I instantly love it.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T03:48:07.386Z">4.48am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We cross a bridge over train tracks into the Downtown district. In front of us is a perfect example of the contrasts of the South.</p><p>In the near distance, the headquarters of LifeWay, the biggest Christian publishers in the US, with a giant granite cross built into the facade. In the foreground, the neon glow of&nbsp;Déjà Vu Showgirls strip bar. In between, a huge gastropub called the Whiskey Kitchen.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T03:40:39.237Z">4.40am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji hit the road – sadly passing Dinosaur and Mammoth Cave – but making up for it with ghostly bourbon, the most interesting Corvette inventor in the world, regal chicken, and the classiest <del>honky tonks</del>&nbsp;establishments in all of Music City.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T03:32:38.650Z">4.32am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Even the taxidermy likes Patterson House! At least I think that could be called a smile …</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T03:22:15.625Z">4.22am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A selection of Nashville's own along with a crew from Jack White's <a href="http://thirdmanrecords.com/artists/">Third Man Records</a>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T02:57:55.293Z">3.57am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Doug, our barman, is indulgently excellent – squeezing homemade bitters from tiny bottles with a miniature pipette, twisting orange peel with an elaborate double-wrist flourish. Large spherical ice balls are served spinning in the glass, the liccor poured over the top. He has a beautiful waistcoat.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T02:50:48.851Z">3.50am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>Hollis' message:</strong>&nbsp;"All is well. All is very very well."</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T02:42:59.211Z">3.42am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Mixomytosis</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T02:26:19.582Z">3.26am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We find the address he's given us. No sign on the road, just a door with "The Patterson House" on it.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T02:14:15.164Z">3.14am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're on Hollis time. He's told us to get to our hotel an clean up. Gary was instructed to put on a shirt and I was forbidden from wearing flip flops. We wash. It's the first time all day I haven't been sweating. We're off somewhere fancy.</p><p>Within two minutes of leaving our hotel I'm sweating again. Significantly so.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T02:09:20.631Z">3.09am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Nashville, being Music City and all, has certain strong associations with the genre and/or bars known as honky tonks. Here is everything the internet's collective brain knows about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honky-tonk">honky tonk</a>, distilled.</p><p><strong>The origin story:</strong></p><p>The origin of the term&nbsp;<em>honky tonk</em>&nbsp;is unknown.&nbsp;</p><p>"petition to the council is being circulated for signatures, asking that the Honky Tonk theater on Main Street be reopened."&nbsp;</p><p>One American manufacturer of large upright pianos was the firm of William Tonk &amp; Bros,&nbsp;which made a piano with the decal "Ernest A. Tonk". However, these pianos were not manufactured until 1889, after the first occurrences of&nbsp;<em>honky tonk</em>&nbsp;in print.</p><p>An unsuspecting group of cowboys looking for recreation mistook the honk-a-tonk-a-tonk-a sound from a flock of geese for the sound of a bass viol, after which the name stuck.</p><p>"In these establishments, which were often of enormous size, much liquor was dispensed at the tables which crowded the floor, and entertainment of doubtful quality was given on a stage at one end of the room."</p><p>Synonymous with&nbsp;<em>beer joint</em>&nbsp;and similar terms, honky tonks usually serve beer or hard liquor and may have had a bandstand and dance floor. Many may have only a&nbsp;juke box.</p><p>The first&nbsp;music genre&nbsp;to be commonly known as&nbsp;<em>honky tonk music</em>&nbsp;was a style of&nbsp;piano&nbsp;playing related to&nbsp;ragtime, but emphasizing&nbsp;rhythm&nbsp;more than&nbsp;melody&nbsp;or&nbsp;harmony; the style evolved in response to an environment where the pianos were often poorly cared for, tending to be out of tune and having some nonfunctioning keys.</p><p>&nbsp;Lyrics tended to focus on working-class life, with frequently tragic themes of lost love, adultery, loneliness, alcoholism, and self-pity.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T01:50:19.519Z">2.50am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><a href="http://www.bluebirdcafe.com/">Bluebird Cafe</a>:&nbsp;aka Nashville's "centrifuge" (the show's, that is).&nbsp;The music venue bills itself as&nbsp;"one of the world’s preeminent listening rooms … where the “heroes behind the hits” perform their own songs." Via&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Z_Everson" data-send-impression-cookie="true">@Z_Everson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/seacsi" data-impression-cookie="[&quot;20732824&quot;,&quot;f84e&quot;,&quot;earned&quot;,&quot;&quot;,[],&quot;&quot;]" data-user-id="20732824">@seacs</a>&nbsp;and others.</p><p><a href="http://www.grimeys.com/">Grimey's</a>&nbsp;for in-store performances, 'new and preloved music', indie expertise, and vinyl … so much vinyl. Via&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/12203342">tammymercure</a>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T01:45:01.188Z">2.45am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>It should be known there is a <strong>James Brown Tribute Show</strong> at BB Kings tonight, in case that detail might persuade readers to turn Benji loose there.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T01:26:19.275Z">2.26am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The venue and club tippage has been superb, which bodes wonderful things for Nashville's music scene. Here's a selection of what Benji and the guys could see tonight and tomorrow.</p><p>First off, this is Nashville – home of the&nbsp;<a href="http://countrymusichalloffame.org/">Country Music Hall of Fame</a>. It's unclear whether the '<a href="http://countrymusichalloffame.org/current/view/carrie-underwood-the-blown-away-tour-exhibition">Carrie Underwood: The Blown Away Tour Exhibition</a>' would Benji blow away any more than the '<a href="http://countrymusichalloffame.org/current/view/reba-all-the-women-i-am">Reba: All the Women I Am</a>' exhibit, but I for one sincerely hope that readers band together with&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/2HellW4Giveness" data-impression-cookie="[&quot;900811525&quot;,&quot;3f&quot;,&quot;earned&quot;,&quot;&quot;,[],&quot;&quot;]" data-user-id="900811525">@2HellW4Giveness</a>&nbsp;and make him check it out.</p><p>Go to Tootsie's and Bourbon Street Blues. But really, just do a dive crawl. There's fantastic music everywhere. And I hate country music.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T00:59:31.132Z">1.59am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji and the guys elected to eat early and make the most of the night, availing themselves of Prince's regal chicken. But the tips for Nashville grub have been great:</p><p><a href="http://monellstn.com/">Monell's Restaurant</a>, for the southern family style pot roast, cheese grits, and biscuits and gravy. It comes with a ringing endorsement.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T00:30:24.318Z">1.30am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>It's game night in Nashville – a big one.</p><p>It's the first game of the SEC season, and local university <strong>Vanderbilt</strong> is hosting <strong>Ole Miss</strong> from Mississippi. Wedgwood Avenue is packed, cars streaming towards the stadium and carparks buzzing with tailgate pre-parties, football fans pumping beer from kegs into ubiquitous red cups.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-30T00:09:15.797Z">1.09am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>As Benji's mentioned on various occasionally, our photographer Hollis is a Nashville local – and the Guardian has requested his expertise in the past. See <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2013/aug/29/nashville-road-trips-locals-view-in-pictures#/?picture=415199565&amp;index=10">the whole set here</a>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T23:51:08.868Z">12.51am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>How better to celebrate the guys' entry into the city than a playlist by&nbsp;Nashville music blog <a href="http://Breakonacloud.com">Break on a Cloud</a>?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T23:37:31.032Z">12.37am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T23:24:02.493Z">12.24am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Two Guardian takes on the soapy TV sensation <a href="http://watchabc.go.com/nashville/SH55199662">Nashville</a>, from our skeptical&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/aug/29/nashville-box-set-review">Andrew Collins</a>&nbsp;and our in-office TV die-hard Raya Jalabi. First, Collins' <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/aug/29/nashville-box-set-review">review of the first series</a>:</p><p>I hereby testify that you needn't dig&nbsp;country&nbsp;music to dig Nashville. All that's required is a soft spot for Dynasty-grade feminine rivalry and interlocking love triangles, not to mention endless, twang-accompanied establishing shots of tourist-brochure Tennessee.</p><p>By the end of 21 episodes, every possible romantic configuration has been road-tested – even, shock-horror, a gay lunge, at which point that other essential country element, tragedy, heaves into shot.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T23:03:21.641Z">12.03am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Just so, so good. A quarter leg with thick crunchy spicy batter, I eat it three times: first a general trim; then into the nooks of the leg and thigh; then a forensic nibble; finally biting into the gristle and bone.</p><p>I'm trying to recall eating better chicken, and I'm not sure I can. And I have a Jewish mother.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T22:52:20.653Z">11.52pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Prince's couldn't be more innocuous, a turning off a junction of three petrol stations, a single sign on a small strip of shops, between a nail salon and a discount sportswear store.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T22:44:53.489Z">11.44pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Time constraints mean Benji won't get to the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm">Mammoth Caves</a>, unfortunately, but the park deserves a quick glance, if only from afar.</p><p>The cavern complex is home to eyeless fishes, has a room called the 'Ruins of Karnak', and stretches over 400 miles of passages. Ancient Americans lived in them and 19th century prospectors fought for them. There's a huge forest preserve above, and you can spelunk and camp as you please.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T22:34:37.744Z">11.34pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've crossed state lines and a time zone, currently on the outskirts of Nashville with a thick stream of rush hour traffic coming in the opposite direction.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T22:18:22.096Z">11.18pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>While the crew is still in the state, we'd be remiss not to say something about another Kentucky institution: <strong>KFC</strong>. The 'secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices' was created by <strong>Harland Sanders</strong>, aka the Colonel.&nbsp;</p><p>Sanders modified a pressure cooker into a fryer and thus turned his Corbin, KY service station into a chicken shop. He then made a fortune and lived to the ripe old age of 90. He was … colorful. Per Josh Ozersky at <a href="http://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2019218,00.html">Time</a>:</p><p>His white suit wasn't the invention of a marketing committee; he wore it every day and was never seen in public for the last 20 years of his life in anything else. (He had a heavy wool one for winter and a lighter cotton one for summer.) He was a failure who got fired from a dozen jobs before starting his restaurant, and then failed at that when he went out of business and found himself broke at the age of 65. He drove around in a Cadillac with his face painted on the side before anybody knew who he was, pleading with the owners of run-down diners to use his recipe and give him a nickel commission on each chicken. He slept in the back of the car and made handshake deals. … He once shot a man in a gun battle, but was never charged as the other guy started it. He was a lawyer who once assaulted his own client in court. He was indeed a Kentucky Colonel, an honorary title given to him by not one but two governors. … He deserves to be remembered at least for having a verifiable existence.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T22:09:17.144Z">11.09pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The weather's turned south just as we did. Good thing we're headed for caves. Huge, labyrinthine caves. Nothing could go wrong.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T21:59:13.316Z">10.59pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A playlist wrought from the Corvette factory and <a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado/status/373170389608071169">clashing Twitter requests</a>.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T21:40:34.864Z">10.40pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Other than that, my favourite bit was learning about&nbsp;<strong>Zora Arkus-Duntov</strong>, the designer and "patron" saint of the Corvette.&nbsp;They like him here. A lot.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T21:34:22.334Z">10.34pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Gary and I did get a really nice picture taken though.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T21:26:51.882Z">10.26pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Inside, more cars. Cars and pictures of cars and models of cars and stickers of cars, and a huge gift shop selling car things.</p><p>I get about halfway around the never-ending museum route before remembering that I'm really not that interested in cars, despite having tried really hard in the past. Sorry.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T21:12:47.950Z">10.12pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Meta live blogging.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T21:05:55.138Z">10.05pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Driving into <strong>Bowling Green</strong>, past the vast Corvette plant – a huge ugly tin shed that runs for miles. Car parks as far as the eye can see.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T20:52:55.166Z">9.52pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Things that are in no way incongruous in Kentucky include Scotland and tinted windows and patriotic decals on a massive pickup.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T20:42:21.325Z">9.42pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>More crestfallen than <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwgLVk_-5cM">John Hammond consoling himself with ice cream</a>, Benji has just learned of and passed by Kentucky's one and only <a href="http://www.dinosaurworld.com/">Dinosaur World</a>. He reacted calmly.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T20:22:52.890Z">9.22pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>While the guys are on the road, a quick look back at Louisville is in order, if only to honour the great Kentuckian<strong> Hunter S</strong> <strong>Thompson</strong>, whose old home Benji cruised past last night.&nbsp;</p><p>Thompson had quite a bit to say about his hometown's most famous event – even though he couldn't see the race from his spot at Churchill Downs. He wrote a piece for Scanlan's in 1970 titled 'The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved’ – a couple gonzo highlights below:</p><p>Finally we decided just to go ahead and steal two [press] passes, if necessary, rather than miss that part of the action. This was the last coherent decision we were able to make for the next 48 hours.</p><p>Rain all nite until dawn. No sleep. Christ, here we go, a nightmare of mud and madness …. Drunks in the mud. Drowning, fighting for shelter …. But no. By noon the sun burns, perfect day, not even humid.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T19:54:32.948Z">8.54pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji's request for playlist requests is well intended, if a little <a href="https://twitter.com/mrdavidwhitley/status/373171131676897280">Australian infused</a>&nbsp;… but it's not like Kentucky – the Bluegrass State – doesn't have its own musical tradition. And it's not <em>all&nbsp;</em>bluegrass … just mostly bluegrass (and Clapton for kicks).</p><p>The guys are already Tennessee bound, so head below the line and tell us what you want to hear and we'll start piling on the Nashville classics!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T19:51:15.825Z">8.51pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T19:42:58.332Z">8.42pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Wired explains what might be discomfiting Benji so, with its illuminating article: "<a href="http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-09/st_whatsinside">What's inside a Slim Jim</a>?" There's meat, anyway …</p><p><strong>Beef</strong><br>It's real meat, all right … The US Department of Agriculture categorizes beef into&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/inspection_&amp;_grading/index.asp">eight grades of quality</a>. The bottom three …and come from older steers with partially ossified vertebrae, tougher tissue, and generally less reason to live. ConAgra wasn't exactly forthcoming on what's inside Slim Jim.</p><p><strong>Mechanically separated chicken</strong><br>Did you imagine a conveyor belt carrying live chickens into a giant machine, set to the classic cartoon theme "Powerhouse"? You're right! Well, maybe not about the music. Poultry scraps are pressed mechanically through a sieve that extrudes the meat as a bright pink paste and leaves the bones behind (most of the time).</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T19:22:02.979Z">8.22pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Hollis bought a Matador meat stick at the service station. It consists of beef and "mechanically separated chicken".</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T19:12:12.899Z">8.12pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A few miles outside Bardstown, we stop at a service station and local car boot sale. I buy a $4 axe head from a man named Russ.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T18:53:11.730Z">7.53pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji and the boys are making their way to The <strong>National Corvette Museum</strong> <strong>in Bowling Green</strong> - a showcase for the sexy little sports car that has been in production since 1953.</p><p>This one was in production in 1983.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T18:25:43.924Z">7.25pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A quick stop in the centre of Frankfort for a souvenir bottle - somewhat ironically, Buffalo Trace can only sell three of its varieties on site. At the <a href="http://capitalcellars.net">Capital Cellars</a> in town, there are hundreds of bottles stacked on the shelves. The clerk, Tony, grew up in Harrow on the outskirts of London, but moved to Frankfort for a woman in 1982. The whiskey probably helped, too.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T18:22:17.605Z">7.22pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're taken on a whistlestop tour by David. My favourite fact: according to David, it's the longest running distillery in the US, continuously operating since 1773... including during the Prohibition period.</p><p>How did they manage that? Well, in 1920, 26 states passed the Medicinal Whiskey Act, allowing up to three pints of 100 proof whiskey per person per month (including babies) to be prescribed by your friendly local doctor for various ailments, including tension, and headaches. During the 14 years of Prohibition, Kentucky doctors signed over 6 million whiskey prescriptions. Patients from states without the law would flock to Kentucky for "second opinions".</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T17:54:14.957Z">6.54pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T17:24:40.188Z">6.24pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>On Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/mpressmeredith">@mpressmeredith </a>introduces a spooky note. Turns out the distillery is haunted. Bumps in the night, shivers in the cellars. Wooh!&nbsp;Who ya gonna call? <del>Ghostbusters </del>Ghost Hunters...</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a> enjoy your Buffalo Trace tour - but watch out for ghosts! <a href="https://t.co/lSB7LludgY">https://t.co/lSB7LludgY</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T17:04:20.767Z">6.04pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>What <del>we </del><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Trace_Distillery">Wik</a>i know about Buffalo Trace:</p><p>The company claims the distillery is the oldest continuously-operating distillery in the United States...Records indicate that distilling started on the site sometime before 1773 by Hancock Lee who died in 1776... The first true distillery was constructed [here] in 1812 by Harrison Blanton.</p><p>The distillery is located on what the company claims was once an ancient buffalo crossing on the banks of the Kentucky River in Franklin County</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T16:52:30.142Z">5.52pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The road that dips into Frankfort from the interstate is cut deep into a limestone hill. Hollis is talking about trucks, and how our Jeep, which Gary and I are very proud of, is embarrassingly wincy - the kind of car you might get around here after you've just passed your test, to get you going.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T15:45:28.396Z">4.45pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>After last night's exploration of Louisville, the crew are now heading out of town to go in search of ... <strong>bourbon</strong>.</p><p>Presumably to discover the provenance of what they were quaffing last night. They're heading into the bluegrass Kentucky countryside, aiming for the <a href="http://www.buffalotrace.com">Buffalo Trace distillery</a> in Frankfort (as recommended by <a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26451248">@Duderonomy</a>). They are also going to check out the Corvette Museum (<a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26442770">@Baron254</a>) and Mammoth Caves (<a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26444270">@nemocapn</a>) in Bowling Green.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T15:14:31.101Z">4.14pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>At <a href="http://wagnerspharmacy.com/">Wagner's Pharmacy </a>in Churchill Downs, you drink ice tea - two pints of the stuff in a huge plastic tumbler. Every order is met with an instant response, "sweet or un-", a sure-fire sign that we're not quite in the real South yet - in the South, it's sweet or nothing.</p><p>Our omelettes arrive. Hollis ordered a "Pam &amp; Jacks" - green pepper, onion, tomato, ham, bacon, sausage and two types of cheese. It's the size of a pizza, and the height of a sandwich. Zach (<a href="https://twitter.com/EaterLouisville">@eaterlousiville</a>) walks in to join us, immediately pointing at it. "What the hell is that?"</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T15:09:53.807Z">4.09pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Breakfast at <a href="http://wagnerspharmacy.com">Wagner's Pharmacy</a>, another tip from<a href="https://twitter.com/EaterLouisville">@eaterlousiville</a>. It's a cracker. Wagner's has been serving workers from the Churchill Downs race course across the road - home to the Kentucky Derby - since 1922. Jockeys, hot walkers, stall cleaners and owners all come in here for their breakfast, and so do we.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T14:24:04.194Z">3.24pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>Day four. Today, the bar is high, for two reasons.</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-four">Continue reading...</a>United States holidaysNashville holidaysLouisville holidaysKentucky holidaysChicago holidaysMemphis holidaysTravelThu, 29 Aug 2013 18:53:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/29/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-fourPhotograph: Sean Pavone/AlamyNashville bound ... Benji and the team hit the road for Music City. Photograph: /AlamyPhotograph: Sean Pavone/AlamyNashville bound ... Benji and the team hit the road for Music City. Photograph: /AlamyBenji Lanyado and Hollis Bennett2013-08-29T18:53:00ZTwitter road trips USA: Chicago to Memphis day three – as it happenedhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/28/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-three
Benji Lanyado's third day took him from Indianapolis down through the open prairie roads for the Bluegrass State of Kentucky. <br /><br /> Comments on this blog are now closed but you can catch up with Benji's travels on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/30/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-five">day five</a><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T02:55:42.612Z">3.55am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The Holy Grale, it turns out, is a thing. Everyone is here, mostly in the garden out back – crammed on to benches under a fairy light ceiling in the shadow of the old church roof. It's cheap Kolsch night – a waiter is walking around the benches with dozens of $2 mini glasses, dropping them off to drinkers, marking their beer mats with each deposit.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T02:51:29.244Z">3.51am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T02:46:43.806Z">3.46am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>But decidedly worth the shout out to&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/josetexter">@josetexter</a>. Keep the tips coming to&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a>&nbsp;for tomorrow's time in Louisville and the road south!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T02:29:54.626Z">3.29am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>And speaking of adventurers with a penchant for shaken cocktails, Benji's following in the footsteps of a somewhat famous fictional agent for MI6.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfinger_(film)">Goldfinger</a> might be remembered as the one with Oddjob, a character named Pussy Galore, and that extraordinary tagline – "Everything he touches turns to excitement!" – but it also features Kentucky, and in particular <strong>Fort Knox</strong>, just south of Louisville.&nbsp;</p><p>[After] flying to Kentucky … Bond sees the plan of Goldfinger to attack Fort Knox, tries to drop a note off to the CIA by putting it in the pocket of one of the mob members who was going to help Goldfinger, although he ended up being shot by Oddjob and crushed when his car was crushed into a cube. …&nbsp;Bond manages to convince Pussy Galore to change the nerve gas canisters in the planes about to attack Fort Knox with dummies, so that it has no effect on the soldiers there.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T02:19:54.269Z">3.19am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The Slugger is, first and foremost, a baseball bat, and arguably the best baseball bat. The <a href="http://www.sluggermuseum.com/about/">Louisville factory</a> has been making these bats for <a href="http://www.sluggermuseum.com/about/">over 100 years</a>, and according to their site, <a href="http://www.sluggermuseum.com/todayspros/">over 60% of pros</a> use them when they step to the plate. In short, it's about as pure a symbol of Americana as you'll come across.</p><p>But the Louisville Slugger also happens to be <a href="http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink1wx4359.html">1oz bourbon, 2tsp blackberry brandy, 1oz dry vermouth, and lemons</a>, shaken with ice. In other words, the Slugger's also quickly becoming symbol of Benji's night so far.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T02:12:11.857Z">3.12am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Lori has driven us to <strong>The Highlands</strong>, an artsy three and a half mile stretch 5 minutes from Louisville Downtown. It's famed for its contrasts: tattoo parlours side by side with white tablecloth restaurants.</p><p>Another case in point: <strong>Hunter S Thomson</strong> grew up here, but its most famous current resident is Mitch MConnell, the most powerful Republican in the country.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T01:52:26.916Z">2.52am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Things have changed, I'm in the back of <a href="https://twitter.com/lori_mattingly">@lori_mattingly</a>'s car, Gary up front in driver solidarity. <a href="https://twitter.com/EaterLouisville">@eaterlouisville</a> has hijacked our food choice, and we're aimed for <strong>the Holy Grale</strong>, a converted Unitarian church in the Highlands – and which happened to be <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/17/louisville-kentucky-food-drink-music">one of our expert picks </a>before the trip got underway.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T01:30:17.265Z">2.30am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>It's getting dark. We're still at the Garage. Manny, bless him, insisted on buying me and Gary some bourbon, despite the fact that he whooped my ass on the ping pong table. Southern hospitality at its finest.</p><p>Zach from <a href="https://twitter.com/EaterLouisville">@eaterlouisville</a> has summoned some local royalty: <strong>Damaris Philips</strong> (<a href="https://twitter.com/ChefDPhillips?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fflexible.gutools.co.uk%2Fadmin%2Fpreview%2F521dddffe4b088aaf5f49bac&amp;tw_i=372869412082028544&amp;tw_p=tweetembed">@ChefDPhillips</a>), who recently won the national <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/damaris-phillips/index.html">Food Network Star competition</a>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T01:14:29.347Z">2.14am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Below the line, we've been told of an&nbsp;oddity on the route&nbsp;between Bloomington and Louisville; we unfortunately couldn't make it, but it's still worth a shout to both <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/10628765">adamsjo2</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/12240627">LiterateIndy</a>&nbsp;for suggesting this bizarre "Eighth Wonder of the World", which happens to be part of the French Lick Resort. <a href="http://www.frenchlick.com/hotels/westbaden">Really</a>.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.historichotels.org/hotels-resorts/west-baden-springs-hotel">West Baden Springs Hotel</a>&nbsp;is worth a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.historichotels.org/hotels-resorts/west-baden-springs-hotel">click here</a>&nbsp;to check out it's strange and stunning architecture. The hotel as a whole&nbsp;encompasses stables, golf courses, a spa, and a 'natatorium' (read: extravagant indoor swimming pool). Wiki only provides a partial glimpse of its atrium:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T01:00:45.447Z">2.00am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>[Editor's note: from all the arched eyebrows turned toward Benji, he must've just told them about the wind, his contacts, that bad grip on the paddle...]</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T00:49:49.804Z">1.49am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Some of Hollis' friends have joined us here, along with Zach of&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/EaterLouisville">@EaterLouisville</a>, the local branch of the hugely popular national food blog <a href="http://louisville.eater.com/">Eater</a>, which opened here last November – a sign of the times.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T00:44:53.849Z">1.44am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>This place is excellent. An old garage with a fully gravelled front, dotted with benches, and the crucial table tennis tables, nets held together with wing mirrors.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T00:32:43.021Z">1.32am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Indiana now belongs to London!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-29T00:22:07.945Z">1.22am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Though all eyes are <del>rightly</del> drawn to the epic matchup of <strong>Kentucky v London ping pong at Garage Bar</strong>, Louisville, is, in fact somewhat known for a certain annual equestrian competition.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T23:56:54.548Z">12.56am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've reached the Garage Bar.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MannyMassages">@MannyMassages</a> is here and waiting. Serious game face. I send Gary in to battle. Manny calls me out. I smile like a Bond Villain.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T23:52:12.481Z">12.52am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Boris is evidently on Benji's side.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T23:33:36.331Z">12.33am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Followed by delays, and then some more really intimidating smack talk.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T23:22:53.650Z">12.22am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>God bless AirBnB.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ochaney">@ochaney</a> tweeted that Louisville had some excellent listings, so we booked one from the car a few hours ago.</p><p>We meet Melvin, the flat owner, outside a grand downtown building and he takes us to the top floor, down a few corridors, to his beautiful loft (pic attached). It's superb … and had a SPIRAL STAIRCASE. It cost us £52 ($80.75).</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T23:11:09.760Z">12.11am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T22:59:01.511Z">11.59pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T22:51:00.307Z">11.51pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T22:45:30.866Z">11.45pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T22:30:15.921Z">11.30pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>He tweeted, brandishing an ear of corn …&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MannyMassages">@MannyMassages</a>, this is you're up against.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T22:25:35.615Z">11.25pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T22:17:55.116Z">11.17pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>After serving up dinner plans to the crew,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MannyMassages">@MannyMassages</a>&nbsp;challenges Benji to serve back.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T22:06:00.267Z">11.06pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T21:57:54.171Z">10.57pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T21:45:50.510Z">10.45pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Pretty serious: <a href="http://www.visitlex.com/idea/bourbon.php">95% of the world's supply</a> comes from Kentucky. The sipping tips have already begun in earnest and the guys haven't even crossed state lines.</p><p>In fact, the&nbsp;major whiskey makers and a number of craft distilleries have banded together to organize the&nbsp;<a href="http://kybourbontrail.com/map/">Kentucky Bourbon Trail</a>, which ranges from Louisville and Lexington.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Jack's Lounge:&nbsp;</strong>Bar manager Joy "Bad Girl of Bourbon" Perrine literally wrote the book on bourbon cocktails (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Kentucky-Bourbon-Cocktail-Book/dp/0813192463">The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book</a>), and her influence is evident in the bar's unfussy yet intelligent approach to Kentucky's native spirit.</p><p><strong>The Holy Grale Inside:&nbsp;</strong>In this renovated church in the thick of the hopping Highlands, the city's beer geeks gather for evening services.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T21:25:47.525Z">10.25pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T21:20:37.238Z">10.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji's taken to the forum to plan tonight's victuals. Answers have come tumbling in, and so have more questions: what can be found at <strong>Hillbilly Tea</strong>?&nbsp;What are <strong>Kentucky Hot Browns</strong>? Will <strong>Holy Grale</strong> force Benji to pass a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFntFdEGgws">series of tests</a> just to get a drink?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T21:12:40.027Z">10.12pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T21:02:35.779Z">10.02pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Nobody much knows what 'Hoosier' means, beyond "<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoosier">a resident of the state of Indiana</a>". <a href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&amp;search=hoosier&amp;searchmode=none">Etymology-wise</a>, the only clue is that it might have been "used of anything unusually large".</p><p>So how about we just let&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosiers">Gene Hackman inspire everybody</a>&nbsp;and go with his definition: winners.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T20:54:24.426Z">9.54pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Someone just alerted campus police … to complain about sartorial malfeasances.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T20:48:26.232Z">9.48pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T20:29:44.465Z">9.29pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji's just learned of a film called <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078902/">Breaking Away</a>, which stars Bloomington and won an Oscar in 1979. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmYs0S-6ry4">The trailer </a>shows us the story of a midwesterner with big dreams, trouble with quarry culture, and some pretty corny dialogue – "Smart move, shorty". A quick YouTube scan, however, reveals a slightly more thrilling clip inspired by a scene from the movie:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T20:07:33.497Z">9.07pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji's off to Kentucky, whose famous spirit was named for its history in Bourbon County, which in turn was named after the French&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bourbon">House of Bourbon</a>, a title that these days would make most Americans think of some mythical stash of barrels in a very large house.</p><p><strong>Bourbon 101:</strong>&nbsp;Distilled from fermented corn, mostly, rather than the malted barley of scotch and the (more loosely defined) cereal grain of American whiskey. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbon_whiskey">Wiki</a> tells us that nobody knows who first distilled bourbon, but that a minister named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Craig">Elijah Craig</a> – who also gets credited with many Kentucky firsts, eg, fulling mill, paper mill, ropewalk, etc" – often gets the hat tip.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T19:49:43.462Z">8.49pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're Kentucky bound.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T19:34:57.939Z">8.34pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Matt walks us around the beautiful<strong> Indiana University</strong> campus, lined with imposing faculty buildings built with the trademark local limestone – cut from nearby quarries, the same stone was used to build the Empire State Building.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T19:23:55.542Z">8.23pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T18:55:21.725Z">7.55pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T18:49:58.188Z">7.49pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>After Bloomington, where do Benji and the team head next, dear readers? <del>May be,</del> looking for bourbon now that they've lined their stomachs. Any recommends on the way to Louisville?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T18:37:46.741Z">7.37pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>And Matt (<a href="https://twitter.com/ces_matte">@ces_matte</a>) has come to join us for lunch!</strong></p><p>He's a college senior and has skipped a statistics class to show us around campus. Don't tell his mum.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T18:02:09.786Z">7.02pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've made it to Bloomington, the Indiana University town, and drive through campus to the tree-lined, lazy centre, where students are walking down broad alleys between wood slat houses. It feels like a seaside town in the middle of Indiana, with little shops selling luminous vests and tiny shorts emblazoned with the Hoosiers insignia - the college football team. We're set up on the front porch of the <a href="http://runciblespoonrestaurant.com">Runcible Spoon</a> (recommended by <a href="https://twitter.com/ces_matte">@<strong>ces_matte</strong></a>), where every waitress is mild-mannered and tattooed.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T17:41:40.789Z">6.41pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>In Bloomington, Indiana University student <a href="https://twitter.com/ces_matte/status/372764102877536256">@ces_matte</a> has been plying Benji with tips on Twitter. By way of thanks, we award him an honorary Guardian degree cum laude and give him the afternoon off classes.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a> food wise, there's a lot of options: runcible spoon, farm, village deli. Also, stop by for a beer at nicks or the bluebird.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a> hope you have a good time here, I've lived here my whole life.. Perhaps I'll see y'all when I'm walking to class.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T17:33:31.450Z">6.33pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A visit to TC Steele's converted farm up on a forest ridge in the Brown County State Park. In 1907 Steele turned seven abandoned farmhouses and fields of struggling sorghum and tobacco into his beautiful artistic refuge, spending day after day perched on the hills painting what he saw below him.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T16:57:50.398Z">5.57pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji and the team are at the impressionist painter <a href="http://www.tcsteele.org">TC Steele's</a> house near Belmont in Brown County. Here's what we've discovered about the most important of Indiana's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier_Group">Hoosier Group</a> painters, famed for his Indiana landscapes:</p><p>As Steele explored new places to paint, he discovered an isolated area of Brown County, Indiana, where he built a hilltop studio-home... In August 1907 Steele married Selma Nuebacher, his daughter’s sister-in-law...</p><p>...and brought her to their new summer home in Brown County. Inspired by the breezes blowing through the cottage’s screened porches, they named it the House of the Singing Winds. The land, while not suitable for agricultural purpose, provided Steele with "beautiful picturesque woods and hills and valleys."</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T16:32:22.154Z">5.32pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>Love this drive ...</strong></p><p>Our straight-line route has warped into the forest, wild woods either side of us, the occasional beautiful log cabin. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T16:24:18.044Z">5.24pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We gave the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Twitrips&amp;src=hash">#Twitrips</a> crew the reins to our Instagram: <a href="http://t.co/64dxMeVLfp">http://t.co/64dxMeVLfp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23selfies&amp;src=hash">#selfies</a> cc <a href="https://twitter.com/GuardianTravel">@guardiantravel</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T16:17:35.576Z">5.17pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Through tree tunnels and into the forests of the Brown County State Park, aiming for the house of impressionist painter TC Steele, deep in the woods - as recommended by <a href="https://twitter.com/LiterateIndy">@LiterateIndy</a>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T15:50:34.965Z">4.50pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We pass the huge <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cummins">Cummins Engine </a>plant on the south side of town, and turn back through the residential outskirts, lined with two-storey Victorian white clapboard houses with yellowy-green dry lawns, flaking white air conditioning units propping up windows, topless grandpas sitting on porches. <a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26399953">Crossroads America</a>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T15:18:40.172Z">4.18pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're on the outskirts of Columbus, an architectural outpost dubbed the <a href="http://reason.com/reasontv/2012/11/19/athens-of-the-prarie">Athens of the Prairie</a> which was funded by industrialist and philanthropist J Irwin Miller in the 50s (the town was recommended by <a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26396659">@stephani </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/LiterateIndy">@LiterateIndy</a>).</p><p>Columbus, Indiana is worth a stop on your way from Indianapolis to Louisville. The city has a surprising collection of noteworthy buildings designed by noted architects like Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, among others. I enjoyed my afternoon there.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T15:11:53.974Z">4.11pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>On Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/LiterateIndy">@LiterateIndy</a> (another regular tipster) has suggested a pit-stop at the home of late 19th/early 20th-century impressionist painter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._C._Steele">TC Steele</a> between Columbus and Bloomington.</p><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a> In Brown County, artist T.C. Steele homesite is absolutely lovely. House, studio, garden -&gt; <a href="http://t.co/B4N0pq48eI">http://t.co/B4N0pq48eI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23TwiTrips&amp;src=hash">#TwiTrips</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T15:05:15.874Z">4.05pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/woyce">@woyce </a>- who has been doing us proud with tips all week - has set a challenge: how many different ways are there to pronounce Louisville?</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a> Another goal for the day: ask every single person how they pronounce "Louisville." Only guarantee-it won't be Louis-ville.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T15:00:47.237Z">4.00pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've decided to take a deviation. Again. <a href="https://twitter.com/ces_matte">@ces_matte</a> told us yesterday that there's a considerably more scenic route from Indy to Louisville, via Columbus, the university town of Bloomington, and Brown County state park. We're headed that way. Tips welcome.</p><p><a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26407055">@MAOneby</a>'s suggesting the <a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/empire-state-quarry">Empire Quarry</a> - just north of Bedford, where the stone for the Empire State Building comes from - for a swim. Hmmm.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T14:47:20.695Z">3.47pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Mellencamp - pah!</p><p>The <a href="http://Leoweekly.com">Louisville Eccentric Observer</a> can trump that. Here's their playlist for Kentucky. Hardcore, alt-country, jazz - and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Pah-dum!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T14:32:39.115Z">3.32pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're firmly anchored with corned beef hash, salami and eggs on rye, lox and bagels, and a third of a matzo ball each, and we're back on the I65 just beyond the Indianapolis city limits.</p><p>We've worked out a way of listening to the playlist you've been putting together for us via my Spotify account, Hollis's phone and a $10 service station aux cable. Currently: Jack &amp; Diane by John Mellencamp. YEAHHHH LIFE GOES OOOOAAAAN.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T14:07:08.401Z">3.07pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Today - Indiana out. We've left our hotel - a great little number with Phil Collins playing in the lobby and carpets that look like this:</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/28/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-three">Continue reading...</a>Chicago holidaysKentucky holidaysNashville holidaysMemphis holidaysUnited States holidaysTravelWed, 28 Aug 2013 18:55:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/28/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-threePhotograph: Hollis Bennett/FlickrRoute master ... a trucker at a roadside diner in Indiana Photograph: Hollis Bennett/FlickrPhotograph: Hollis Bennett/FlickrRoute master ... a trucker at a roadside diner in Indiana Photograph: Hollis Bennett/FlickrBenji Lanyado and Hollis Bennett2013-08-28T18:55:00ZTwitter road trips USA: Chicago to Memphis, day two – as it happeendhttps://www.theguardian.com/global/2013/aug/27/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-two
Relive day two of Benji Lanyado's reader-led road trip from its calorie-laden start in Chicago to the oldest blues bar in Indianapolis. <br /><br />Comments are now closed on this post, but you can catch up with Benji on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/30/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-five">day five</a><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T04:04:21.242Z">5.04am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Bingo. We're just in time. At Indiana's oldest blues bar.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T03:58:31.136Z">4.58am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>From the president's barber shop to the dunes, corn and steak delirium of Indianapolis, the course of Benji's second day on the road.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T03:47:30.058Z">4.47am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T03:39:03.116Z">4.39am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've headed out onto South Illinois street, wobbling our way under the Amtrak tracks towards&nbsp;<strong>The Slippery Noodle</strong>, hoping it's not too late for some blues.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T03:15:24.735Z">4.15am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Almost floored. My steak slices like butter. We three lucky swines.</p><p>In important unrelated news: we discover that <strong>Hollis used to be a salmon boat captain in Alaska.</strong></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T03:03:37.426Z">4.03am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Gary and Hollis are almost crying. It's a horseradish grenade in a bowl.</p><p>They can barely talk. It's horseradish with a side of shrimp. I'm smugly dissecting my lettuce salad.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T02:53:15.425Z">3.53am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>I nip outside. More baseball fans walking past from the game aimed towards the bars on Meridian Street.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T02:44:56.356Z">3.44am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Brett brings the steak knives. He's worked here for 10 years. His favourite customers? John Travolta and Robert Duvall.&nbsp;</p><p>"It's the cocktail sauce, lots of horseradish, it's almost like a sweet wasabi".</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T02:38:52.139Z">3.38am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Courtney, our waitress, has brought us a round of Sun King Weemac – a dark Scottish-style ale brewed a few blocks from here. Yummy.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T02:33:41.659Z">3.33am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've made it to the restaurant and are huddled around our table, the wall behind us crammed with signed pictures of visitors.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T02:22:24.916Z">3.22am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Late into Indy, aimed for the cheapest in a trio of side-by-side Mariott Hotels opposite Victory Field, where the drabs of a local minor league baseball game are filing out of the stadium.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T02:09:30.227Z">3.09am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>[Editor's note: related to this culinary mystery is chicken fried steak, which <a href="http://english2english.tumblr.com/post/51171005387/an-answer-the-sweet-sweet-mystery-of-chicken-fried">the Guardian tackled here</a>.]</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T02:01:25.877Z">3.01am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T01:52:57.160Z">2.52am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>So what if the film takes place in Nebraska – Benji has learned from Stephen King that corn is terrifying and full of demonic spirits that possess your friends...</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T01:38:43.172Z">2.38am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T01:22:16.871Z">2.22am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/LiterateIndy">@LiterateIndy</a>&nbsp;and others on Twitter want Benji to pay his respects to the final resting place of Indianapolis-born&nbsp;<strong>John Dillinger</strong>, the prohibition-era bank robber declared "Public Enemy No 1".</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T01:02:02.622Z">2.02am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Reluctantly, we've left Bill and Larry at the truck stop and its onwards to Indy as the sun sets. We'll arrive around dinner time - there's been two clear forerunners among your tips: <strong>Shapiro's Deli</strong> and <strong>St Elmo's Steakhouse</strong>. Which is best?'</p><p>For after, <strong>The Slippery Noodle Inn</strong>&nbsp;– the oldest blues bar in the state.&nbsp;Any advice?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T00:50:04.988Z">1.50am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We decided to inspect the corn.&nbsp;It's huge … 10ft tall at least, and it goes on forever.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T00:40:38.877Z">1.40am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've scored some excellent stuff in the station shop:&nbsp;</p><p>• "Acoustique" album by Foreigner</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T00:27:12.527Z">1.27am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We head inside to the 24-hour all-you-can-eat <strong>Iron Skillet</strong> diner, and saddle up next to <strong>Bill</strong>, a trucker from Kansas.</p><p>"When I was growing up, if you wore white socks you got you ass kicked."</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-28T00:13:24.444Z">1.13am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>1. We found a truck stop: rows and rows of the things. Big hulking bruisers, noisy as – the engines are all running, pumping the air conditioning as drivers sleep in the cabs.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T23:41:18.072Z">12.41am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Benji just missed Valparaiso's&nbsp;<a href="http://www.valparaisoevents.com/popcorn%20festival/">annual popcorn festival</a>, and there was a&nbsp;'<a href="http://artscouncilsi.org/2013-harvest-homecoming-fiddlefest">Fiddlefest</a>' nearby just months ago.&nbsp;The midwest takes its fairs seriously, and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.indianafestivals.org/">Indiana is no different</a>. A quick perusal of <a href="http://www.indianafestivals.org/docs/FG13_Whole_Book_WEB_BOOKMARKS.pdf">the state's 2013 guide</a> – fronted by a goateed man joyously galumphing astride a horse, sword in hand – reveals over 475 planned events.</p><p>Just earlier this year, Indiana hosted the Shipshewana Pajama Sale, the Jasper Strassen Fest, the Fiber Fest &amp; Spin-In, the Makarusa Maple Syrup Festival, the Mansfield Village Mushroom Festival and Car Show, the Sassafrass Tea Festival &amp; Civil War Living History, the Indiana Gourd Society State Gourd Show, the Lore of the Laughery, and the St Joe Pickle Festival.&nbsp;</p><p>Here you're pretty much away all the time. The land is big here – board-game flat, horizons in every direction. See how much farther apart the homes are, how broad the yards: compare with New York or Boston or Philly. Here a seat to yourself on all public transport, parks the size of airports, rush hour a three-beat pause at a stop sign. And the farms themselves are huge, silent, vacant: you can't see your neighbor. Thus the urge physically to commune, melt, become part of a crowd. To see something besides land and grass and corn and cable TV and your wife's face. Hence the sacredness out here of spectacle, public event: high-school football, Little League, parades, bingo, market day, fair. All very big deals, very deep down. … The faces in the sea of faces are like the faces of children released from their rooms … The real spectacle that draws us here is us.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T23:21:13.759Z">12.21am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Corn fields, discount tobacco stores, giant adverts on the sides of lorries parked in lay-bys, corn fields, car showrooms, local mayoral candidate adverts, more corn fields. We're truly on the road now, making progress, roughly 40 miles north of Lafayette.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T23:08:14.010Z">12.08am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>While Gary works …</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T22:49:34.804Z">11.49pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Reader picks (thanks, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/12239763">CAD777</a>!), the requisite, requested Cougar, and Modest Mouse. (They were once considered indie, right?)</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T22:29:22.428Z">11.29pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T22:19:59.710Z">11.19pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/12239763">CAD777</a>, providing some great recommendations below the line,&nbsp;has suggested a town that's a bit too far to make but still very fun to say:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shipshewana.com/">Shipshewana</a>.</p><p>Home to a large Amish community and in Shipse you can browse all types of handmade goods and also sample some delicious food. They also host a large flea market and livestock sale which was my favorite thing to do while visiting my grandparents.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T22:09:02.547Z">11.09pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Our very chirpy waitress Taylor looks like she's ready to go to church in a plain, tidy white dress. A closer look: the dress has a number of white skull and crossbones stitched into it.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T21:36:33.587Z">10.36pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The Strongbow's thing is turkey. I ask ask our waitress Taylor, why is this?</p><p>"Because no one else around here does turkey."</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T21:28:18.594Z">10.28pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Inside, we're one of three parties, and have lowered the average age by about 40 years.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T21:20:22.386Z">10.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're on outskirts of&nbsp;<strong>Valparaiso</strong>, on one of those quintessentially American strips of road flanked on either side with a symmetrical loop of outlets. All the usual suspects are here: Wendy's, Staples, Walmart, Taco Bell, yadda, yadda.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T21:07:37.429Z">10.07pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/10776743">Cubsml34</a>&nbsp;has brought some of that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/26/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis#block-521bbdf4e4b055bf6bac8899">anarchic Illinois spirit </a>across the border, back again, and below the line:</p><p>You can participate in a great Illinois tradition and buy gobs of fireworks in Indiana, bring them back into Illinois where they are illegal, and really stick it to the man by shooting them off and watching your paycheck explode right in front of you!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T20:54:53.496Z">9.54pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've only seen a tiny fraction of the park, which apparently has whole forests and marshlands, but it's already time to get back on the road.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T20:42:36.998Z">9.42pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>If I don't get a third nipple out of this...</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T20:36:34.532Z">9.36pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T20:28:39.760Z">9.28pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The water was fringed with families, sheltering under umbrellas in the heat, occasionally wading out into the shallow water towards a sand bank a few hundred yards out. Everyone seemed at peace with the steel mill to the left, and the nuclear plant to the right. I joined them.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T20:21:09.681Z">9.21pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A trio of trees defying logic and growing on sand dunes.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T20:03:10.826Z">9.03pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T19:57:07.422Z">8.57pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've arrived at the dunes – <a href="http://www.nps.gov/indu/index.htm">25 miles of wild beaches</a> on Lake Michigan's southern shore. At their eastern edge you can see the silhouettes of a swathe of vast steel mills; out to sea you can just about make out a couple of giant freighters. An oasis flanked by industry. I'm off for a swim.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T19:49:47.285Z">8.49pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>But so far no stands, just highway and the odd occasional tower.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T19:30:07.285Z">8.30pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've entered the "rust belt". Miles of roads flanked by decades-old industrial hulks, pylons and train tracks. We've been keeping pace with a mile-long freight train for about 10 minutes now. I can't remember seeing its front or back.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T19:19:02.734Z">8.19pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T19:04:13.403Z">8.04pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>And they're off - to milk something.</strong></p><p>And as they're hitting the road for the first time proper, here's the first proper road trip playlist - bye bye Chicago/Illinois, hello Indiana.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T19:00:30.204Z">8.00pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Like all great unplanned trips, we're willing to change directions regularly. Before the dairy farm, we're heading around the southern shores of Lake Michigan towards the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/indu">Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore</a>, due partly to a groundswell in the comments section, and the fact that it includes the words "dunes" and "lakeshore" in it. Perfect.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:48:11.154Z">7.48pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>After a fine finale in Chicago - huge thanks again to <a href="https://twitter.com/MegaHeid">@megaheid</a> for the tip - we're on the road, aimed for the I65 into Indiana. We've picked up essential provisions - beef jerky, Twizzlers and a Hershey's bar. We've covered about 10 blocks, and have already finished the jerky.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:21:18.493Z">7.21pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Well, that was superb. Obama came to the Hyde Park Hair Salon for 20 years, as a teacher at the nearby Chicago University, a civil rights attorney, and, eventually, as Senator.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:18:24.080Z">7.18pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:16:00.763Z">7.16pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:11:01.689Z">7.11pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:09:05.226Z">7.09pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:08:06.093Z">7.08pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T18:07:03.774Z">7.07pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T17:49:22.702Z">6.49pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T17:30:46.627Z">6.30pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The team has made it to the Hyde Park Hair Salon...and that famous chair.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T17:22:09.853Z">6.22pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're indebted to @stephani - um, we think - for these Indiana tips. We can't wait.</p><p>Sadly, Indiana is a drive-through state. I just came off a long 12-hour road trip from Washington, DC to Chicago. However, there are a few things I could recommend.</p><p>Indiana Dunes. They aren't as impressive as the dunes in West Michigan, but they are worth a look. The State Park is near Michigan City, not far from Gary.</p><p>I've always loved the Century of Progress homes at the Indiana Dunes &amp; Conner Prairie, just NE of Indy.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T16:58:58.778Z">5.58pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a> hahaha I listen to WILV Rewind 100.3 or Q87.7 for what they call Alternative (basically Radio1)</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@benjilanyado</a> The Loop, if you dig rock music.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T16:42:39.505Z">5.42pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>If there's one thing Barack Obama is unwilling to compromise, it's the quality of his do. The President has been a patron of the same Chicago barbershop, the <a href="http://hydeparkhairsalon.net">Hyde Park Hair Salon</a>, for over 20 years, even flying his favourite barber, Zariff, over to Washington to keep him trim. The neighbourhood barbershop, which was founded in 1927, has a solid history of celebrity clientele including Muhammad Ali,&nbsp;Spike Lee and Chicago's first African-American mayor Harold Washington - but they haven't let it go to their heads. President or not, the classic “Home of the Obama Cut” will only set you back $21.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T16:38:17.492Z">5.38pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>We've picked up our car ... the road part of this trip begins.</strong></p><p>Gary is at the wheel, and doing admirably. Gary belly update: unsettled. We're aimed for Obama's favoured barber shop in Hyde Park before hitting the big roads to Indiana. Gonna see what they can do with my Jewfro.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T16:25:09.250Z">5.25pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Come on good people of Indiana - <a href="http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/in_intro.htm">Hoosiers</a>, if we may be so bold to refer to you by your nickname - the reputation of your honourable state is being besmirched. "Nothing to see", 'driveby state',"cornfields" blah blah.</p><p>But we are coming to you and we need to hear from you. We need you to shout as loud as you can: "We are here! We are here! We are here!" in a "Guardian hears a Hoosier" sort of way.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T15:42:31.955Z">4.42pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A mound of omelette, needlessly - but wonderfully - accompanied by raisin toast and maple syrup, and never-ending coffee. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T15:35:23.185Z">4.35pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're in Lou Mitchell's, a classic Chicago diner and campaign trail pit stop. [Editor's note: Lou's, established 1923, is close to Union Station and the beginning of Route 66 and was frequented by many travellers before their journey along the road, earning it the nickname "the first stop on the Mother Road."]</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T15:31:07.869Z">4.31pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're en route to <a href="http://www.loumitchellsrestaurant.com/">Lou Mitchell's</a>, a local staple recommended by <a href="https://twitter.com/GreatAuntUK/status/372118553530748928">@GreatAuntUK</a>, a Brit living in Chicago. We're having our first lunatic taxi experience. The driver took us eight blocks the wrong way, almost ran down a few cyclists, tried to start the meter on $9, kept pressing a button that added a dollar to the fare every few minutes. Then we almost stole his shoes. Long story. We called each other assholes and went our separate ways.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T15:26:58.719Z">4.26pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The Huffington Post has compiled a list of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/viator/what-not-to-do-in-chicago_b_3750420.html">what not to do in Chicago</a>, written by a Windy City resident. How did our Benji fare?</p><p>Well, there's good news and bad news.</p><p>Top marks to him – and mainly to you, readers, who pointed him the right direction – for taking the architectural boat tour. "If anything is a must-do in Chicago, this is it," they say. Well consider that must-do, done.</p><p>"Do not wait in line to go up the Willis [formerly Sears] Tower," they say, as the queues are too long. Benji worked this out for himself (read: photographer Hollis told him) and he headed to the John Hancock Tower, where he enjoyed astonishing views for the price of a coffee. More great views were had later on the roof of the J Parker bar. So far: winning.</p><p>"Do not confine yourself to downtown." Ticked that box. As Benji also got out to North Avenue beach.</p><p>The quickest way to stamp tourist on your forehead is, they say, to ask for ketchup on your hotdog. Does that apply to monstrously large Slayer burgers, too? We don't <em>think</em> Benji committed any ketchup-based sins there, but he has already offended the whole of the city with his views on deep-dish pizza, so let's move on ...</p><p>And the final piece of advice: do not be afraid to ask questions. Well, we don't have to worry about Benji being too shy. He's already had on-the-spot tips from Callie, the J Parker waitress from Indiana, and talked a passerby called Mike into giving him an impromptu tour of Lincoln Park.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T15:20:17.455Z">4.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Yesterday. What a day. We started on an <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/26/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis#block-521b8307e4b04c508c463bcf">architectural boat tour</a>, and finished at a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/26/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis#block-521c2196e4b04c508c463c12">Bone Thugs-N-Harmony</a> gig followed by a round of the local grapefruit moonshine. Well done all of you.</p><p>We've just checked out of the <a href="http://www.acmehotelcompany.com/">ACME Hotel</a> (from $129 per night) – a great little boutique place recommended by <a href="http://twitter.com/helorighetto">@HeloRighetto</a>. I imagine it's the nicest place we'll stay all trip. <strong>Tonight, we need a bed for the night in Indianapolis – any suggestions?</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2013/aug/27/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-two">Continue reading...</a>United States holidaysChicago holidaysMemphis holidaysNashville holidaysLouisville holidaysRoad tripsTue, 27 Aug 2013 18:23:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global/2013/aug/27/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-twoPhotograph: /AlamyMichael Jackson's intersection in his home town of Gary, Indiana. Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: /AlamyMichael Jackson's intersection in his home town of Gary, Indiana. Photograph: AlamyBenji Lanyado and Hollis Bennett2013-08-27T18:23:00ZTwitter road trips USA: Chicago to Memphis day one - as it happenedhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/26/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis
Recap the start of Benji Lanyado's epic road trip through the Midwest and the South. He begins today in Chicago and is heading to Louisville, Nashville and Memphis over the next five days guided solely by tips sent in by readers. <br /><br /> Comments are now closed on this post, but you can catch up with Benji on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/30/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis-day-five">day five</a><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T04:57:44.770Z">5.57am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've reached our final stop o the evening. The entrance to <strong>Violet Hour</strong> is a wall. We walk past it twice. On our third pass, we spot the outlines of a door. Bingo. Inside, it's dark. All we have is candles.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T04:57:08.144Z">5.57am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The first day of Benji's road trip took him winding through the windy city's downtown, from the deep dishes to the North Shore to the hipster enclave of Wicker Park.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T04:47:23.812Z">5.47am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Superb. Crowd writhing. It's a Monday night.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T04:36:06.538Z">5.36am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Work, play, and retweeting top tippage.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T04:15:15.631Z">5.15am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Some kind words (and love for Kuma's) below the line from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/4357593">Hawkeye1980</a>:</p><p>Pics brought a tear to my eye. Lived in Chicago seven years and never wanted to leave … interestingly captures this spectacular American city with an eager outsider's eye (Big props for sojourning to Kuma's) Downtown's iconic and all, but I could walk around Lincoln Park and Old Town for ages. There's a real warmth to those streets. Thanks for the postcard.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T03:55:12.831Z">4.55am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The Chicagoan Gods are smiling on us. We followed Ryan to Double Door, where&nbsp;<strong>Bone Thugs-N-Harmony</strong>&nbsp;are playing – yes, them of the mid-90s – and we got in. I'm pretty sure I know every word to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMYAEHE2GrM">The Crossroads</a>, and I'm going to prove that to these people.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T03:40:09.721Z">4.40am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Three facts about Ryan, the guy with a mohawk helmet.</p><p>1. Ryan used to be a pro ballroom dancer.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T03:23:43.438Z">4.23am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>And as the gang heads to meet whomever's out Monday night in Chicago, we can take a quick architectural interlude courtesy&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/woyce">@woyce</a>, who&nbsp;more or less hit upon the two highlights that the team missed.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T03:08:44.125Z">4.08am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>While the guys are struggling to (literally)&nbsp;feed their carnivorous instincts, we can glance at Chicago's more naturally feral inhabitants – the city's world class collection of flora and fauna, as recommended by readers yet unseen by the Guardian's wandering trio.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Ameritoon" data-user-id="369304806">@Ameritoon</a>&nbsp;recommended the <a href="http://www.lpzoo.org/">Lincoln Park Zoo</a>, which from their website, seems to be full of various sorts of babies: baby gibbons, langurs, takins, gorillas,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/new-arrivals">bushbabies</a>&nbsp;and so on. Visitors are presumably astounded to see adorable wildlife not on internet slideshows – and for&nbsp;free! (Furthermore, Chicago seems to have its <a href="http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/red-panda">red pandas</a> in check, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jun/25/red-panda-washington-national-zoo-video">unlike Washington DC</a>.)</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T02:50:48.200Z">3.50am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T02:31:55.339Z">3.31am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>This is Pauline.&nbsp;Pauline has seen an actual human eat two Slayer burgers in a row.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T02:22:30.934Z">3.22am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Oh my days. This is barely a burger. This is an edible autonomous state. This burger could legitimately operate own legal system. There's a mound of cheese on top of a mound of meat on top of a mound of other stuff that I can't really make out because it's dim-lit in here and I've taken my glasses off because I might cry.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T02:08:35.296Z">3.08am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>They've just delivered a "side" of mac n' cheese. It could comfortably feed a family of three. I'm a peculiar mix of scared and exhilarated. I'm also slightly worried that if I don't finish this someone here will put me in a headlock.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T01:51:17.694Z">2.51am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're inside, and we've met the manager, <strong>Frank DeBose</strong>. Brilliantly, he's telling us about his love of Manchester City – he lived in Didsbury for seven years in the 80s.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T01:36:36.966Z">2.36am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Arrived in Avondale … a distinct neighbourhood feel. Low orange light, low-rise, grungy.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T01:23:08.442Z">2.23am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Does not much amuse their cab driver …</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T01:16:55.689Z">2.16am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>From here we'll head to <strong>Avondale</strong>, for dinner at <a href="http://www.kumascorner.com/">Kuma's Corner</a>, a highly endorsed tip kicked off by <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkPakulski">@MarkPakulski</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado/status/372122155775184896">re-suggested</a> by many since. It's a heavy metal burger joint. I don't fully get this. Must I mosh as I munch?&nbsp;</p><p>The <a href="http://m.yelp.co.uk/biz/kumas-corner-chicago">Yelp page</a> is overwhelming – people love this place.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T01:03:06.954Z">2.03am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>J Parker's is not bad at all …&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T00:51:30.094Z">1.51am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Callie, our waitress, is from Indy – currently sharing tips off the I65.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T00:35:24.628Z">1.35am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Tip of the day so far, from&nbsp;@<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/12220601">karlazimmerman</a>.</p><p>We're up on the roof of the <a href="http://www.jparkerchicago.com">J Parker</a>,&nbsp;as witching hour turns to sunset hour. The savvy locals are up here too, none as sweaty as me. They've been home and re-humanised.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-27T00:21:06.312Z">1.21am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T23:59:26.745Z">12.59am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've entered the American "witching hour", the time between work and everything else. These folk go home, refresh, re-apply, before heading out.</p><p>We Brits, mistakenly I think, have no time for such temperance – we hit the pub and go hard, early. Lincoln Park is full of strollers now, ambling up and down Wells Street. I like.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T23:41:59.815Z">12.41am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The guys plan on venturing into Wicker Park after dinner for the flavor of Chicago's breweries, music and nightlife. (They're deciding between a couple options – <strong>Big Star</strong>? <strong>Velvet Hour</strong>? <strong>Map Room</strong>? – so you can still help make up Benji's mind for him&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/benjilanyado">@BenjiLanyado</a>.)</p><p>But readers have supplied plenty of choices all around the city:</p><p>Revolution (Chicago)<br>Two Brothers (Chicago suburbs)<br>Three Floyds (Indiana)<br>New Glarus (Wisconsin, admittedly hard to find in Chicago)<br>Capital (Wisconsin)<br>Great Lakes (Ohio)<br>Founders (Michigan)<br>Boulevard (Missouri)</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T23:18:13.440Z">12.18am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>A playlist in part for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/12237132">@missMM</a>, who wouldn't let us get away with omitting Sufjan Stevens.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T22:58:21.566Z">11.58pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Recharging batteries – both literally and figuratively – on Well St, Lincoln Park. It's the post-work witching hour, restaurants opening and prepping for the evening.</p><p>Meanwhile on Twitter, two major food tips are emerging: <a href="http://www.kumascorner.com/">Kuma's Corner </a>for burgers, and <a href="http://www.hotdougs.com/">Hot Dougs</a> for, yup, hot dogs. <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkPakulski?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fflexible.gutools.co.uk%2Fadmin%2Fpreview%2F521b31e3e4b055bf6bac8848&amp;tw_i=372086050404831232&amp;tw_p=tweetembed">@MarkPakulski</a> makes a convincing case for the burgers:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T22:39:43.190Z">11.39pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Lest we forget the other all-time movie filmed and set in Chicago, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080455/">The Blues Brothers</a>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T22:19:52.396Z">11.19pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T22:10:22.271Z">11.10pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're in Lincoln Park, where we found ourselves walking in sync with <strong>Mike Robinson</strong>, who lives here.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T21:48:38.813Z">10.48pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Sadly, there's not nearly enough time to make the <a href="http://www.artic.edu/">Chi Art Institute</a>,&nbsp;which has come highly recommended by&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/mouseboy33">@mouseboy33&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/10400144">johnakirk101</a>, among others. Among <a href="http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/">the collection</a> – which is massive, ranges from ancient artifacts the world over, and generally looks spectacular – is one particularly (in)famous painting: American Gothic, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Wood">Grant Wood</a>.</p><p>Courtesy Wiki:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T21:31:58.476Z">10.31pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Your whims are Benji's command, readers – tell us where to go!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T21:01:54.877Z">10.01pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>From a 95th floor lookout over Chicago's sprawling downtown … to the beach, in under 10 minutes. Great tip from&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MaxineSheppard">@MaxineSheppard</a>. We're currently perched at <a href="http://www.castawayschicago.com/index.html">Castaways Bar and Grill</a>.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T20:44:48.774Z">9.44pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>In case vicariously touring Chicago with Benji doesn't quite have the delinquent kick you're looking for, two classics of the 80s show the city from three very different points of view: students playing hooky, gangsters brewing hooch, and the authority figures trying to catch them.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091042/">Ferris Bueller's Day Off</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094226/">The Untouchables</a>.</p><p>Below the line, <a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26365960">@johnakirk101</a> has suggested that the crew reenact two iconic scenes: leaning down from the&nbsp;<strong>Sears Tower</strong>&nbsp;(which <a href="https://twitter.com/mouseboy33/status/372056089203703809">@mouseboy33</a> tells us is not to be called&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Tower">the Willis Tower</a>) and the <a href="http://blog.amtrak.com/2013/06/untouchabes-stair-scene/">Union Station</a> shootout. Without time to run hijack parade floats or rob banks, however, we're left with YouTube to console us.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T20:19:12.071Z">9.19pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The guys are heading up to North Avenue Beach, so to accompany them (and us) we've compiled reader requests and bands with ties to the windiest of cities.&nbsp;Tells us your picks in the comments below,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/guardiantravel">@GuardianTravel</a>, and we'll add them to the next one!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T20:02:26.985Z">9.02pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T19:38:39.543Z">8.38pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Oh wow, this is incredible. We were walking north toward Lincoln Park, right next to the famous <a href="http://www.johnhancockcenterchicago.com/">John Hancock Tower</a>. Our photographer Hollis had a superb diversion. Tourists here are usually corralled towards the "observatory" on the 94th floor, for $20 a pop.</p><p>One floor above that, fairly unmarked at street level, is the Signature Room, free for all. I'm currently sipping a coffee next to floor-to-ceiling windows with the most astonishing views of the city.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T19:02:44.557Z">8.02pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>No dilemma for Benji, who needed little persuasion...we're now looking for Lincoln Park tips!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T19:00:13.468Z">8.00pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>While Benji and the boys have been shoeing in the pie, we have a split vote on what to do next.</p><p>Some readers are pointing us in the direction of history and the arts downtown:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T18:40:22.452Z">7.40pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We've made it to<a href="http://ginoseast.com"> Gino's East</a>. OK, let's talk about the deep dish. You know what? It's fine. In fact, I'd go as far as saying its good. These guys clearly know what they're doing - the crust is big, but not offensively so. And the stuff in the middle, it's upside down (sauce over cheese), but the sauce is rich and sweet.&nbsp;</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T18:00:35.008Z">7.00pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Our photographer Hollis Bennett has taken over the <a href="http://instagram.com/guardiannews">Guardian News Instagram</a> feed for this trip from Chicago to Memphis, and you can also leave tips there</p><p data-reactid=".r[4hjmw].[0].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[1].[0].[1].[0].{531135600932834733}.[1].[2][0].[1]"><a href="http://instagram.com/chicagofoodlord" data-reactid=".r[4hjmw].[0].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[1].[0].[1].[0].{531135600932834733}.[1].[0]">@chicagofoodlord</a>&nbsp;has offered:</p><p data-reactid=".r[4hjmw].[0].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[1].[0].[1].[0].{531135600932834733}.[1].[2][0].[1]">my Wicker Park favs are Lockdown Bar and Grill, Antique Taco, and Mana Food Bar (vegetarian but still delicious)</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T17:54:07.483Z">6.54pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>For all you <del>never</del> ever wanted or needed to know about the evolution of the deep-dish pizza/pie in Chicago, we point you in the direction of the <a href="http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/05/08/chicagos-deep-dish-history-the-beginning.php">chicagoeater.com blog archives</a>:</p><p>Deep dish pizza first appeared in a commercial setting when <strong>Ike Sewell</strong> and <strong>Ric Riccardo</strong> (born Richard Novaretti) opened the restaurant now known as <strong>Pizzeria Uno</strong> in 1943...Sewell pushed for something much more substantial than the Neapolitan version and the two came up with deep dish pizza.</p><p>there is zero evidence to support the notion that two guys with no known cooking acumen came up with the recipe for deep dish pizza.</p><p data-user-name="benjilanyado">Deep dish is a scam, a tourist trap. Some people like it, some don't</p><p data-user-name="benjilanyado">Italians cooking pizzas in frying pans in their tenement ovens after leaving the old country... I think</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T17:35:44.395Z">6.35pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Appears Benji is being led by his belly. And despite professing a distrust for all things deep-dish - "<em>Fact fans: why does Chicago do this deep-dish pizza thing? Who started this madness? Was it a mistake? It's ok you can tell me</em>" - he's doing the deep-dish thing.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T17:20:17.107Z">6.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Lots of food tips coming in - for deep-dish pizza at <a href="http://www.ginoseast.com">Gino's Eas</a>t, tacos on the patio at <a href="http://bigstarchicago.com">Big Star</a> in Wicker Park, for <a href="http://franksndawgs.com">Franks N Dawgs</a> in Lincoln Park (shark bacon, eggs, and scallop sausages) and <a href="http://devildawgs.com">Devil Dawgs</a>. Thanks to all on Twitter and below ... but it feels like indigestion could be approaching after that breakfast. And we're mindful of poor Gary's constitution!</p><p>What else should our crew SEE and DO?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T16:44:27.405Z">5.44pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>Great story:</strong> in the late 1800s, Chicago had a dirty water problem - all the city's waste was, erm, dumped into the Chicago River, which flowed into Lake Michigan, where they got their drinking water from. Euw.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T16:32:08.021Z">5.32pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T16:26:32.790Z">5.26pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>35 West Wacker</strong> - a post-modern Goliath that houses the Leo Burnett advertising company. This is where Tony the Tiger was invented. MIND BLOWN.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T16:06:27.509Z">5.06pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>We're indebted to <a href="http://www.aviewoncities.com/chicago/tribunetower.htm">A View on Cities</a> for this background on the Tribune building:</p><p>In 1922, the Chicago Daily Tribune organized a competition for the 'most beautiful and eye-catching building in the world'. Raymond Hood - who would later build the <a href="http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/rockefellercenter.htm">Rockefeller Center</a> in <a href="http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc.htm">New York</a> - and John Howell won the first place due to their Gothic design... </p><p>The award was very much criticized at the time as the Gothic design went against the modernizing trend set by the Chicago School and against the ideas of the more functional European architecture, later known as the International Style, which reduced decorations to the bare minimum. It would in fact be the second place design from Eliel Saarinen and another major contender from Walter Gropius which would greatly influence later skyscraper designs.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T15:55:07.204Z">4.55pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Sitting on the banks, braced for a boat trip on the Chicago River. Can't stop staring at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_Tower">Tribune Building</a> across the water. I just love this stuff, built in an era of 1920s showing-off exuberance, when frills and grand flourishes were the foundations of anything big. The top 10 floors look like a cathedral. Doing neck exercises.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T15:48:24.652Z">4.48pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Looks like they're heading for a boat tour of Chicago architecture - despite them eating enough at breakfast to sink an architectural tour boat</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T15:15:07.927Z">4.15pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>With breakfast all but over ... what should Benji do next?</p><p><a href="http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26225483">In our expert Q&amp;A last week</a>, Chicago resident <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/discussion/user/id/12182716">ChrisdesGarennes</a> suggested a feast for the eyes:</p><p>Some of the best tours in Chicago are offered by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. They offer a variety of different kinds (walking, boat, elevated train) and I recommend for first-time visitors to take the classic river architectural boat tour for a good overview of Chicago architecture</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T15:00:48.818Z">4.00pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T14:55:37.479Z">3.55pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Swimming in ingredients at <a href="http://eatyolk.com">Yolk</a>. This is breakfast as our American God intended. Nothing is straight up - there are five different eggs Benedict, ranging from "caprese" (mozzarella, pesto etc) to "south of the border benny" featuring chipotle, cilantro (CORIANDER!) and chorizo.</p><p>Jetlagged Gary is almost crying with joy. I have a rabbit in the headlights moment, and somehow order three slices of cake slathered in cheese then deep fried and grilled. <em>I'm eating deep-fried cheesy cake for breakfast</em>.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T14:44:43.363Z">3.44pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T14:37:46.417Z">3.37pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Left to right: Gary (the driver), Benji (knee-knacked blogger), Hollis (the photographer)</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T14:24:22.156Z">3.24pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T14:10:42.133Z">3.10pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>While we're waiting for Benji and the team to get their first coffee rush going, let's spin a few tunes courtesy of our resident DJ <a href="https://twitter.com/jaimeblack">@jaimeblack</a> at <a href="http://dynastypodcasts.com">Dynasty Podcasts</a>.</p><p>We will be taking requests throughout the trip, so tell us what you want to hear, and we'll put it up on our daily playlists - in the comments below, or <a href="https://twitter.com/guardiantravel">@GuardianTravel</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/about/resources/buttons#hashtag">#TwiTrips</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2013-08-26T13:38:25.248Z">2.38pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>My name is Benji Lanyado, and I'm yours.</p><p>For the next five days, I'm going to be travelling from Chicago to Memphis, guided solely by your tips.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/26/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphis">Continue reading...</a>United States holidaysChicago holidaysNashville holidaysLouisville holidaysMemphis holidaysMon, 26 Aug 2013 19:02:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/26/twitter-road-trips-chicago-memphisBenji Lanyado2013-08-26T19:02:00ZTwitter road trips USA: send us travel tips for Chicago to Memphishttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/22/twitter-road-trips-chicago-to-memphis
Help plan our road trip from Chicago down to Memphis by sending tips on offbeat, out-of-the-way places to <a href="https://twitter.com/GuardianTravel" title="">@GuardianTravel</a> or with our new tool, <a href="https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/521c75f6e4b055bf6bac88c2" title="">GuardianWitness</a><p>People of the Guardian, and others … For <strong>five days starting on 26 August</strong>, I'm yours. That morning, I'll be waking up in <strong>Chicago</strong>, and will be at your service, primed for a working week as a wandering pawn. My journey will be the fifth instalment of the Guardian's reader-powered TwiTrips through the US. I'm aiming to end in <strong>Memphis</strong> via Indianapolis, somewhere in Kentucky (you decide, hint: I like whisky, or whiskey, or bourbon, I won't take you to task over which – until I've sampled it), and also <strong>Nashville</strong>.</p><p>I need you. Apart from a vague notion of the route, I'll have nothing planned, taking my lead in real time from the tips you send in on Twitter and <a href="https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/521c75f6e4b055bf6bac88c2" title="">GuardianWitness</a>. Feel free to ignore this, but I have a request. I want weird. Wonderfully weird.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/22/twitter-road-trips-chicago-to-memphis">Continue reading...</a>Road tripsChicago holidaysMemphis holidaysLouisville holidaysNashville holidaysUnited States holidaysNorth and Central America holidaysTravelThu, 22 Aug 2013 13:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/22/twitter-road-trips-chicago-to-memphisPhotograph: Lucas Jackson / Reuters/REUTERSFrom Chicago to Memphis (with a trip to Sun Studio?). Just don't send our writer to a demolition derby with one of these cars. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersPhotograph: Lucas Jackson / Reuters/REUTERSFrom Chicago to Memphis (with a trip to Sun Studio?). Just don't send our writer to a demolition derby with one of these cars. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersBenji Lanyado2013-08-22T13:00:00ZICT needs a makeover to keep the Silicon Roundabout flowing | Benji Lanyadohttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/09/ict-silicon-roundabout-computing-a-levels
Computing A-levels are deeply unpopular, despite this being the brave new digital world. But making ICT education sexy is easy<p>British politicians adore the spurious concept of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/may/01/tech-city-funding-uk-startups" title="">Tech City</a>. Give David Cameron half a chance and he'll wax electric, fingers clicking, about the capital's buzzing tech cluster based around the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/silicon-roundabout" title="">Silicon Roundabout</a> at Old Street in east London. Digital is the future, tech will save us, e-everything, yadda, yadda, yadda.</p><p>Meanwhile, in a cluster of boroughs not so far away, a <a href="http://www.nextgenskills.com/computing-a-level-entries-fall-again-worries-for-hi-tech-talent-in-england-and-london/" title="">stinking dollop of a statistic</a> emerged in January: across the entirety of London, only 376 students chose computing at A-level in 2011/12. That's just 0.4% of all courses taken. In this brave new digital world of ours, we're facing a worrying demographic timebomb.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/09/ict-silicon-roundabout-computing-a-levels">Continue reading...</a>EducationComputingTechnologyComputer science and ITSilicon RoundaboutUK newsTue, 09 Jul 2013 12:15:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/09/ict-silicon-roundabout-computing-a-levelsPhotograph: Linda Nylind/Guardian'Let's applaud the government for ripping the ICT curriculum up and starting again. Let’s just hope it’s suitably sugar-coated.' Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianPhotograph: Linda Nylind/Guardian'Let's applaud the government for ripping the ICT curriculum up and starting again. Let’s just hope it’s suitably sugar-coated.' Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianBenji Lanyado2013-07-09T12:15:00ZGoogle: no such thing as a free lunchhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2013/apr/10/google-tax-department-office-perks
If the US tax department gets its way, gratis grub, free haircuts and similar office perks for employees of Google and other Silicon Valley companies may be on the way out<p>Look at your lunch. Is it a bit disappointing? Look around your office. I&nbsp;bet there are no slides or yoga studios. Your journey into work, you paid for it, right? How vulgar. You are clearly not a Googler.</p><p>The perks of working at a Silicon Valley company have been the stuff of jealous legend for years. <a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/" title="">Airbnb</a> offers a <a href="http://blog.crunched.com/crunched-top-26-startups-to-sell-for/" title="">$2,000 (£1,300) holiday budget</a> to all employees. In-office massages, free beer and complimentary haircuts <a href="http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/04/09/12-startups-that-offer-their-employees-the-coolest-perks/" title="">are commonplace</a>. Facebook will do your laundry for you. Google's bounteous canteens overflow with gratis grub: sushi, mussels and oysters feature regularly.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2013/apr/10/google-tax-department-office-perks">Continue reading...</a>GoogleTechnologyFacebookMediaUS newsWorld newsWork & careersMoneyTaxSilicon ValleyWed, 10 Apr 2013 16:29:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2013/apr/10/google-tax-department-office-perksPhotograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North AmericaA Google chef makes sushi for staff in California. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North AmericaPhotograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North AmericaA Google chef makes sushi for staff in California. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North AmericaBenji Lanyado2013-04-10T16:29:19ZHow to become a mobile app millionairehttps://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/shortcuts/2013/mar/26/how-to-become-an-app-millionaire
This week 17-year-old Nick D'Aloisio hit the headlines by selling his app, Summly, to Yahoo for an estimated £18m. Here's a step-by-step guide to your own hi-tech fortune<p>You have an idea for an app? Of course you do. Everyone has an idea for an app. Even my mum does, despite not having fully mastered the difference between a click and a double-click yet. So if you want to make a fortune with it, like 17-year-old <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/mar/25/summly-sold-yahoo-teenage-creator" title="">Nick D'Aloisio has by selling his app Summly to Yahoo for an estimated £18m</a>, what next?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/shortcuts/2013/mar/26/how-to-become-an-app-millionaire">Continue reading...</a>AppsTechnologyTue, 26 Mar 2013 13:05:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/shortcuts/2013/mar/26/how-to-become-an-app-millionairePhotograph: Suzanne Plunkett/REUTERSNick D'Aloisio, inventor of the news app Summly. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/REUTERSPhotograph: Suzanne Plunkett/REUTERSNick D'Aloisio, inventor of the news app Summly. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/REUTERSBenji Lanyado2013-03-26T13:05:00ZThe UK's attitude to computer education needs a reboot | Benji Lanyadohttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/06/uk-computer-education-needs-reboot
If we don't take programming and web design seriously in schools, the UK will fall behind its global competitors<p>In schoolrooms across the country, pupils have long learned how to use Word, and Excel, and how to make Powerpoint presentations during ICT classes. This is akin to teaching a generation of aspiring chefs how to shop at Tesco. Programming and web design – the ability to create websites and computer programs from scratch – is still deemed an extra-curricular hobby, to be picked up at one's own inclination. This is absurd.</p><p>Those who regard programming as an niche, esoteric endeavour are wrong. Just as PE teaches teamwork and perseverance as a byproduct of the sport itself, coding espouses the principles of logic and problem-solving. You may never use the HTML, CSS or JavaScript that coding lessons would teach you, but the mental exercise is unquestionably good. Either way, in an education system increasingly looking to arm its students with more vocational and tangible skills, coding seems like a significantly more useful pursuit than English literature.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/06/uk-computer-education-needs-reboot">Continue reading...</a>Computer science and ITEducationComputingUK newsTechnologyThu, 06 Sep 2012 13:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/06/uk-computer-education-needs-rebootPhotograph: David Levene/GuardianAn ICT lesson at the Anglo European school in Ingatestone, Essex. Photograph: David Levene for the GuardianPhotograph: David Levene/GuardianAn ICT lesson at the Anglo European school in Ingatestone, Essex. Photograph: David Levene for the GuardianBenji Lanyado2012-09-06T13:00:02ZWhat is Reddit? And why does Obama care?https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/aug/30/what-is-reddit-why-obama-care
The hugely influential link-sharing website has become the 'front page of the internet'<p>"Internet freedom is something I know you all care passionately about; I do too," wrote President Obama on Wednesday night during an <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obama_president_of_the_united_states/" title="">impromptu question and answer session</a> on popular link-sharing website <a href="http://www.reddit.com/" title="">Reddit</a>. "We will fight hard to make sure that the internet remains the open forum for everybody."</p><p>"Sure thing," noted a user. "Do you like cats?"</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/aug/30/what-is-reddit-why-obama-care">Continue reading...</a>RedditTechnologyBarack ObamaWorld newsInternetUS elections 2012US newsUS politicsThu, 30 Aug 2012 16:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/aug/30/what-is-reddit-why-obama-carePhotograph: Saul LoebA perfect match: Obama and Reddit. Photograph: Saul LoebPhotograph: Saul LoebA perfect match: Obama and Reddit. Photograph: Saul LoebBenji Lanyado2012-08-30T16:00:02ZThe world's worst supersized tourist flops | Benji Lanyadohttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/23/world-supersized-tourist-flops
The Tokyo Skytree is a towering achievement, but this motley crew of tourist giants prove bigger doesn't always mean better<p>The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2012/may/22/tokyo-skytree-in-pictures" title="">Tokyo Skytree</a> looks magnificent. Four years in the making and topping out at 2,080ft, the giant observation tower and broadcasting mast <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/may/22/tokyo-skytree-worlds-tallest-tower" title="">opened on Tuesday</a> as the world's second largest structure, with as many as 8,000 tourists expected on its first day. Only Dubai, that other great purveyor of very big things, can boast bigger – the vast <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/interactive/2010/jan/04/burj-dubai-design" title="">Burj Khalifa</a> tower would peer over the Skytree by almost 700ft, if they stood back to back.</p><p>The pursuit of the huge is a long-standing tourism obsession. While the Skytree and the Burj have been executed with laudable style, other attempts at large-scale tourist-aimed projects demonstrate that bigger doesn't always mean better. Here are five reminders:</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/23/world-supersized-tourist-flops">Continue reading...</a>ArchitectureArt and designTravelWed, 23 May 2012 11:36:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/23/world-supersized-tourist-flopsPhotograph: duncan phillips / Alamy/AlamyValle de la Prehistoria Photograph: duncan phillips / Alamy/AlamyPhotograph: duncan phillips / Alamy/AlamyValle de la Prehistoria Photograph: duncan phillips / Alamy/AlamyBenji Lanyado2012-05-23T11:36:00ZMy day doing everything the internet told me tohttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/may/07/doing-everything-internet-tells-me
The internet bombards us with advice on how to spend our money and our time. So what would it be like to follow every single suggestion for a day?<p>In the early days of the web, as internet explorers anonymously scoured its provincial nooks, a&nbsp;cartoon appeared in the New Yorker that would be its most reproduced illustration, business-to-business, for the next decade. A dog sits in front of a computer, talking to another dog by its side: <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Internet_dog.jpg" title="">"On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog."</a> Almost 20 years later, a lot has changed. The web has become obsessed with working out who we are, and serving us accordingly. Amazon wants to predict the books we should read. Facebook's algorithms toil to introduce us to new friends. Adverts for things we have considered buying stalk us across the web.</p><p>The internet wants to help. It wants to create a bespoke, recognisable experience when we are online. But in doing so is it shrinking, rather than broadening, our horizons? A growing school of thought thinks so. A recent article in <a href="http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/ian-leslie/search-serendipity?page=full" title="">Intelligent Life magazine</a> warned against&nbsp;the web's assault on serendipity. "Google has become so good at meeting our desires that we spend less time discovering new ones," moans the article's author, Ian Leslie. As I read to the bottom of the piece online, an advert pops up. After 1,500 words on how the internet is killing serendipity by serving up an infinite stream of more of the same, I&nbsp;am asked: "Do you&nbsp;want to read more&nbsp;like this?"</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/may/07/doing-everything-internet-tells-me">Continue reading...</a>InternetSocial networkingGoogleFacebookMediaTechnologyMon, 07 May 2012 18:04:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/may/07/doing-everything-internet-tells-mePhotograph: Public DomainI lost my heart to a Lego Star Wars sandtrooper: what Amazon suggests Benji Lanyado might want to buy.Photograph: Public DomainI lost my heart to a Lego Star Wars sandtrooper: what Amazon suggests Benji Lanyado might want to buy.Benji Lanyado2012-05-07T18:04:00ZLondon city tips on Foursquarehttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/apr/27/foursquare-london-city-tips-olympics
We've added hundreds of our insider tips and restaurant reviews across the capital to location-based social network Foursquare. Follow the Guardian to be alerted to tips close to where you are<p>According to many, there's a very important sporting event taking place in London this year. Yup, that's right, the first annual <a href="http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/sport/tag-rugby-london/all-tag-rugby-eyes-on-finsbury-park-festival.htm">Finsbury Park Spring Tag Rugby Competition</a>!!!!!!<a href="#*"><strong>*</strong></a></p><p>What, that's already happened? Oh for goodness sake.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/apr/27/foursquare-london-city-tips-olympics">Continue reading...</a>London holidaysTravelSocial mediaFoursquareOlympic Games 2012England holidaysOlympic GamesFri, 27 Apr 2012 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/apr/27/foursquare-london-city-tips-olympicsPhotograph: guardian.co.uk<a href="https://foursquare.com/guardian">The Guardian on Foursquare</a>: Browse hundreds of tips across LondonPhotograph: guardian.co.uk<a href="https://foursquare.com/guardian">The Guardian on Foursquare</a>: Browse hundreds of tips across LondonBenji Lanyado2012-04-27T09:00:00ZThe best travel videos on the web: fairground Buenos Aires and Kitesurfing in Madagascarhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/apr/03/buenosaires-madagascar-best-travel-videos-series
This month's video roundup features the Argentinian capital, Inception-style, Colorado's back country in slow mo, and a day in the life of the Isle of Wight<p>Each month, we ask our readers and Twitter followers to send us your favourite travel videos from across the web. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/feb/14/adventure-videos-web-best-skiing-wingsuit">Last month's clips</a> featured daredevils launching themselves from the top of Norwegian mountains, skiers hurtling through Canadian villages and stunning shots of Papua New Guinea, and this month is an equally thrilling collection.</p><p>Next month ... <strong>we're looking for dance and music-themed themed videos</strong>. Anything that connects to a specific place, whether regional dances set to stunning backdrops or vibrant live performances that showcasing a particular corner of the world. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/apr/03/buenosaires-madagascar-best-travel-videos-series">Continue reading...</a>TravelBuenos Aires holidaysMadagascar holidaysColorado holidaysExtreme sportsAdventure travelSkiing holidaysTue, 03 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/apr/03/buenosaires-madagascar-best-travel-videos-seriesPhotograph: Public DomainBuenos Aires forms the backdrop for a surreal Inception-style video in this month's roundupPhotograph: Public DomainBuenos Aires forms the backdrop for a surreal Inception-style video in this month's roundupBenji Lanyado2012-04-03T05:00:00ZIs Bournemouth really one of Europe's best beaches?https://www.theguardian.com/travel/shortcuts/2012/mar/07/bournemouth-beach-europes-best-beaches
It may have come fourth in a new poll. But if you're looking for miles of deserted golden sand, there are much better options<p>Ah, the wisdom of crowded beaches. TripAdvisor's latest user poll on the best strips of sand in Europe has caused quite a stir – with <a href="http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9572951.Bournemouth_beach_named_best_in_the_UK/" title="">Bournemouth in at number four</a>, ahead of anything France, Italy or Greece have to offer. Top of the flip-flops (sorry) is Olu Deniz, a perpetually rammed picture-perfect promontory on Turkey's Aegean coast, followed by Icemeler, a hotel-lined crescent beach 100km up the coast, and package holiday favourite Puerto Alcudia in Majorca.</p><p>To be fair, Bournemouth beach is lovely. It should be – the seven-mile strip of sand has received almost <a href="http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=350982" title="">£11m in investment</a> over the last few years, including the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/surfing/7735759/3m-Boscombe-artificial-reef-produces-wrong-kind-of-waves.html" title="">construction of an artificial surf reef at Boscombe</a> that doesn't really work. Yet while Bournemouth's PR team will be doing cartwheels, savvy beach-lovers will be taking note – the unwritten rule of beach-hunting is that the more people who know about a beach, the worse it is.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/shortcuts/2012/mar/07/bournemouth-beach-europes-best-beaches">Continue reading...</a>Beach holidaysBournemouth holidaysUnited Kingdom holidaysEurope holidaysSpain holidaysBulgaria holidaysAlbania holidaysTravelTripadvisorBournemouthWed, 07 Mar 2012 14:52:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/shortcuts/2012/mar/07/bournemouth-beach-europes-best-beachesPhotograph: Chris Ison/PACan you do better? Bournemouth beach. Photograph: Chris Ison/PAPhotograph: Chris Ison/PACan you do better? Bournemouth beach. Photograph: Chris Ison/PABenji Lanyado2012-03-07T14:52:03ZMumbai city guide, on web, mobile and tablethttps://www.theguardian.com/info/2012/mar/06/mumbai-city-guide-responsive-interactive-design
The Guardian's latest city guide is responsive to the platform on which it's viewed<p>Last week we released our latest city guide into the wild... Indian music collective B.L.O.T. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2012/mar/01/mumbai-chaotic-sights-sounds-video?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486">whisked us around Mumbai</a> collecting photographs and audio, food expert Vandana Verma <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2012/mar/01/mumbai-best-street-food-video">followed the city's army of dabbawallas</a> ferrying tiffin boxes from kitchens to workplaces via some great food stalls, and fashion blogger Manou <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2012/mar/01/mumbai-street-fashion-manou-video?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486">tracked trends from the street to the catwalk</a>.</p><p>We wrapped it all up in a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/interactive/mumbai-city-guide">beautiful interactive map</a>, which, for the first time, is responsive to the platform on which it is viewed. Translation: if you view the guide on a desktop or laptop, it looks one way, if you view it on a tablet, it looks another way, and if you view it on mobile, it looks different again. Crucially the source behind what you are viewing is exactly the same on all of them, it's just adapting accordingly. No need for different versions of the same content.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/info/2012/mar/06/mumbai-city-guide-responsive-interactive-design">Continue reading...</a>TravelTue, 06 Mar 2012 15:36:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/info/2012/mar/06/mumbai-city-guide-responsive-interactive-designPhotograph: Public DomainThe Guardian's Mumbai city guide is built around an interactive map that responds to the platform on which it is viewedPhotograph: Public DomainThe Guardian's Mumbai city guide is built around an interactive map that responds to the platform on which it is viewedBenji Lanyado, Subhajit Banerjee &amp; Jonathan Richards2012-03-06T15:36:00ZSyria: is it possible to rename streets on Google Maps?https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2012/feb/15/syria-rename-streets-google-maps
Syrian protestors are trying to remove the president's name from Google Maps. Just how is it done?<p>In their struggle to free Syria from the clutches of President Bashar al-Assad, anti-government activists have embarked on a project to wipe him off the map. Literally. On Google Maps, major Damascus thoroughfares named after the Assad family <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-opposition-seeks-to-wipe-the-assad-name-off-the-map--via-google/2012/02/14/gIQAad5aER_story.html" title="">have appeared renamed after heroes of the uprising</a>. The Arab Spring has form in this regard. When anti-Gadaffi rebels tore into Tripoli last August, the name of the city's main square on the mapping service c<a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/martyrs_square_in_libya_an_important_act_of_geoloc.php" title="">hanged overnight – from "Green Square", the name given to it by the erstwhile dictator, to "Martyr's Square"</a>, its former title.</p><p>The internet giant's mapping service has a history of weighing in on political disputes. Two years ago it <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1007.gravois.html" title="">accidentally gave Arunachal Pradesh, a contentious Indian territory bordering Tibet, to China</a>, littering it with Mandarin place names. The mistake made bilateral talks between the two countries, due to start a few hours later, a little awkward. Elsewhere, its labelling of the body of water between Iran and Saudi Arabia as the "Arabian Gulf" triggered a million-strong petition in Iran for it to be renamed the "Persian Gulf". It now displays neither. Google's response to all of the above has been to blame data errors, taking great pains to distance itself from accusations of political bias.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2012/feb/15/syria-rename-streets-google-maps">Continue reading...</a>SyriaMiddle East and North AfricaWorld newsGoogleTechnologyBashar al-AssadGoogle MapsWed, 15 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2012/feb/15/syria-rename-streets-google-mapsPhotograph: guardian.co.ukBenji's Boulevard of Wondrous Joy: for now, anyway. Photograph: guardian.co.ukPhotograph: guardian.co.ukBenji's Boulevard of Wondrous Joy: for now, anyway. Photograph: guardian.co.ukBenji Lanyado2012-02-15T20:00:00Z